The Green Knight (2021)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A knight must face a mysterious and powerful entity to prove his courage and integrity.
The story
Gawain is awakened on Christmas morning in a brothel by his lover, a commoner woman named Essel. He returns to Camelot, following a scolding by his mother Morgan le Fay. Gawain attends a feast at the Round Table with his uncle the Lord, who invites Gawain to his side. In a tower, le Fay performs a magic rite which summons the mysterious Green Knight who barges into the court as Merlin gives the Lord a look. He states that any knight able to land a blow on him will win his green axe, but must travel to the Green Chapel the following Christmas and receive an equal blow in return. Gawain takes up the challenge.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After accepting the challenge, Gawain decapitates the Green Knight, who promises a return blow in a year. During his journey to the Green Chapel, Gawain encounters a boy who steals his belongings, a ghost named Saint Winifred, and a red fox. He eventually reaches a castle where he is tempted by a lady who resembles his lover. He accepts her advances for a green girdle, which he keeps as a protective charm. Upon reaching the Green Chapel, he faces the Green Knight. The Knight's challenge is a test of his integrity; Gawain flinches and fails to remain firm. The film then depicts a vision of Gawain's life as a king, where he eventually loses his family and his head falls from his shoulders. It is revealed this was a vision of his failure. In reality, he is still at the chapel, and the Green Knight tells him 'Now, off with your head' after Gawain admits his failure.
- First release year
- 2021
- Runtime (minutes)
- 130
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- David Lowery
- Writers
- David Lowery · writer
- Cast and characters
- Dev Patel · Gawain; Alicia Vikander · dual role; Joel Edgerton; Sarita Choudhury; Sean Harris; Ralph Ineson · the titular character
- Genres
- dark fantasy; adventure
- Themes
- Integrity and character
- Tone and mood
- dark; somber
- Premise and plot tags
- Arthurian; mythology; fantasy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- Reception
- The film received acclaim from critics for its cinematography, music, acting, production values, and Lowery's originality. It was described as a 'masterpiece of blood, sex and magic' and a 'rivetingly weird and exceptionally beautiful fantasy film.'
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 89% · scale: percentage · review count: 331; Metacritic · score: 85 · scale: 100 · review count: 56; RogerEbert.com · score: 4 · scale: 4; Empire · score: 5 · scale: 5; Slant Magazine · score: 2.5 · scale: 4
- Production trivia
- The film was inspired by 1980s fantasy films like Willow and Excalibur.; The inclusion of Saint Winifred was inspired by the mention of the Holy Head (Holywell) in the original poem.; The film's production was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…