The Green Knight

Details

Release year: 2021

Storyline

A fantasy retelling of the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

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Did you know

• The ending was left deliberately ambiguous for artistic purposes: director David Lowery has stated that even he and lead actor Dev Patel have different interpretations about what happened. After Gawain has a vision of the disastrous future which awaits him and Camelot if he acts dishonorably, he chooses to stay, removes the magic sash and tells the Green Knight he is ready for his blow. The Knight congratulates him for his courage and says: "Now... off with your head!", then the movie cuts to the end credits. This could be interpreted literally as the Knight beheading Gawain, who has chosen death over dishonor. However, the quote could also be understood as "Now, off (you go), with your head", with Gawain being spared after his test of character; the Knight mischievously running his finger over Gawain's throat could be seen as the "blow" he has chosen to return as the conclusion of the "game". For the record, in the original poem (which has substantial differences from the movie), Gawain survives the encounter.

• The five traditional knightly virtues are friendship, generosity, chastity, courtesy and piety. Throughout the movie Gawain, when tested, fails at all five. Friendship: after he befriends the fox, he ends up threatening it and chasing it away when the animal warns him about his danger. Generosity: he gives a single coin to the Scavenger and only after the latter explicitly begs for it. Chastity: he is seduced by the Lady. Courtesy: he initially asks for a reward from the ghost of St. Winifred for helping her. Piety: he does not want to attend the Christmas mass at the beginning. This shows he is not ready to be a knight yet, until his final choice at the Green Chapel.

• Essel (Alicia Vikander) wears bells on her shroud because during the Middle Ages, it was common for people who were considered unclean, such as prostitutes, to be forced to wear bells on their clothing to warn others of their presence. She has her hair cropped for the same reason; in medieval London and many other places, prostitutes had their hair cut short as a public humiliation and punishment.

Box Office

Gross (Domestic): $17,173,321

Opening Weekend (Domestic): $6,790,917 (2021-08-01)

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