YMMV / The Green Knight

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • The titular knight himself. A mindless golem acting on the will of the witches? A kindly mentor figure helping Gawain grow up? The Lord of the local castle, as in the original tale? All interpretations are possible.
  • Gawain’s mother. An evil witch a la Morgan Le Fay, using her own son to bring about Camelot’s downfall? A mother trying to encourage her son’s destiny and force him to find his inner knight? Or was she planning for the Knight to humiliate Arthur, not expecting Gawain to take up the challenge?
• Award Snub: Despite being critically acclaimed and considered an artsy, innovative fantasy movie, the film didn't get nominated for a single Oscar. In particular, Dev Patel's performance received a lot of Oscar buzz, but he didn't get nominated for Best Leading Actor.
• Awesome Music:
  • Much of the music, but the song that plays at the start of the final segment is especially haunting and beautiful.
  • Aiganz O Kulzphazur is another amazing piece.
• Continuity Lockout: If you're unfamiliar with Arthurian myth, you're likely going to finish the movie questioning what Gawain's mother's role is in all this and why she summoned the Green Knight in the first place.
• Creepy Awesome:
  • The titular character goes from a man with green skin and clothes to a rather unique and intimidating◊ otherworldly design. The voice helps.
  • The strange ritual that Gawain's mother leads as the Green Knight appears at the Round Table, which involves ominous chanting, runes written in blood, and Guinevere getting suddenly possessed and speaking with the Green Knight's voice. Probably one of the coolest depictions of witchcraft on film.
• Critical Dissonance: Just like the director's previous films (and in general A24 style), it's received rapturous critical reviews but a divided audience response. It currently holds a critical score on Rotten Tomatoes of 89%, and an audience score of 50%.
• Funny Moments:
  • The scene at Winifred's is surprisingly full of deadpan comedy in spite of being a spooky scene in an already haunting movie. Overall, the ghost girl seems pretty irritated by Gawain, who breaks into her house, sleeps in her bed (and as the reveal of her skeleton later shows, he might've unknowingly laid on top of her remains), tries to poke at her to see if she's real, and asks for compensation in return for retrieving her skull. She just seems really annoyed by the guy's general lack of chivalry.
  • The scene before Gawain departs the castle has him coming home hungover from a tavern to find his mother and the King waiting for him. It earns you a chuckle that even in medieval times, finding your parents waiting too patiently for your very late-night arrival is still common.
  • A small one at the Green Chapel. Gawain arrives but finds the Green Knight in slumber, obviously waiting until Christmas to meet Gawain. Gawain ends up waiting, and during the night before Christmas, the Knight visibly awakens, sees Gawain waiting, then promptly falls back asleep. It's as if he's thinking "Oh shit, you're early. Ehh, I guess I can catch some more zzz's, I got time."
  • In a similar quietly funny tone is the proper encounter with the Green Knight. While Gawain’s increasing panic and frustration is heartbreaking, the Green Knight’s patient, vaguely confused reaction to the whole thing just adds a darkly funny layer. By the second time Gawain backs out of the beheading, the Knight almost seems annoyed that Gawain thinks there’s more to this part of the game than just his death.
• Heartwarming Moments: Arthur's entire relationship with Gawain. It's obvious from the get-go that Arthur unconditionally loves his nephew and wants nothing more than to get to know him after spending too much of his life ignoring his family for the sake of Camelot. Gawain in return clearly looks up to Arthur greatly, and his attention means a lot to him. The scene before Gawain leaves where Arthur encourages him to seek out the Green Knight is particularly sweet. Behind closed doors away from prying eyes, Arthur shows that he does genuinely care for young Gawain as he gently and humbly cleans the mud off his face.
• Magnificent Bastard: The titular Green Knight is a mysterious being testing the knighthood of young Gawain, offering his neck to a blow at Christmas Day with the stipulation that Gawain will receive the same strike in turn a year hence. After leaving with his own severed head, the Green Knight is heavily implied to be the lord of a nearby castle who likewise tests Gawain with his wife and a magical girdle before their final confrontation in the Green Chapel. The Green Knight then indicates it was all a test once Gawain removes the girdle after a vision of the future and leaves it unclear if he will spare Gawain or take his head for real.
• Nightmare Fuel: The Lady's "seduction" of Gawain, mainly due to its changing from a chivalrous game to a nearly outright sexual assault during which Gawain is clearly terrified.
• Padding: A common criticism of the film is how it drags out a lot of scenes of nothing happening, like Gawain walking or people staring at things.
• Squick: We get a lovely shot of Gawain's hand covered in his own emissions after he's seduced by the Lady.
• Tear Jerker: Essel having her child taken away after getting to hold him in her arms for barely a moment. If the scene wasn't a flash forward to a Bad Future, it would probably be Gawain's Moral Event Horizon.