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Young viking prince Amleth (Oscar Novak) was overwhelmed with joy when his royal Norse father King Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke) came home after many conquests. Aurvandil’s subjects, wife and brother welcomed the king with solemn respect and very little adulation.

But to Amleth, it felt like the greatest moment of his life, especially as Aurvandil lets the boy take part in an ancient Norse ritual. The joyous moment is short-lived, because the king’s brother, Fjölnir (Claes Bang) kills him, creating the inciting incident of Amleth’s journey of vengeance.

Robert Eggers’ “The Northman” does not create any illusion on the kind of story it is: the film is simply about revenge. The trailer for the action epic makes that fact quite clear. Even the character of Amleth proves that, as the screenplay written by Eggers and Sjón is based on the medieval Scandinavian legend that directly inspired William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”

The first 45 minutes of the film feel like the legendary play, where the now-adult Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) goes off to a distant land and then returns to his home to finally kill his murderous, power-hungry uncle. But what makes “The Northman” different is the clever and unique way it tells the typical revenge story. Eggers enhances the story by questioning the hero’s revenge motives altogether.

We see Amleth become a character fueled by anger with no direction in life as he brutally murders people across the Land of the Rus. He then finds a way to channel his rage by being reminded of his revenge quest by a prophet (​​Björk). But it doesn’t take Amleth too long to find Fjölnir.

This is where we find the first piece of evidence that this isn’t your normal tale of vengeance. Fjölnir, after killing Aurvandil, takes over the kingdom on the island of Hrafnsey. But Fjölnir’s control of the isle is lost quickly as foreign invaders take the land from him. For most of the film, we see Fjölnir in this defeated state. He and his subjects are exiled to farm country in Iceland.

This subverts the expectations of a villain of this genre. In revenge films like “Django Unchained,” “Léon: The Professional” or “Gladiator,” the villain that usurps power usually keeps that power. But in “The Northman,” the villain lost his. While Amleth is still motivated to find and kill Fjölnir, the once-intimidating king feels subdued. His uncle defines the antagonist role, but his role as a villain is much more questionable.

Like Fjölnir, the women of “The Northman” also create ambiguity and subversion. Amleth’s mother, Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman), is not the loving mother and wife the young boy remembers.

When Amleth finds Gudrún in Iceland, she is happier with Fjölnir than she ever was with Aurvandil. She reveals that her marriage and Amleth’s birth was the result of her being taken away as a slave. This fueled her with enough hatred to order Fjölnir to kill her husband. Kidman brilliantly portrays Gudrún’s deep-rooted rage, which perfectly contrasts Amleth’s explicit rage.

The queen’s perspective makes us question whether or not Amleth’s quest for revenge is actually justified and accurate. Films on vengeance usually put us in the corner of the protagonist who was wronged. But what makes “The Northman” fantastic is that it fleshes out the world and shows a truth that isn’t dogmatic.

Eggers and fellow screenwriter Sjón create a world of contradiction, violence and confusion. It goes well with the medieval setting, as so many characters are set in their beliefs. But those beliefs, like Amleth’s for example, get contradicted.

The other major female character, Olga of the Birch Forest (Anya Taylor-Joy), changes how we view revenge as well. Throughout nearly the entire film, Amleth is accompanied by Olga and is unable to finally commit revenge without her access to magic powers.

This once again goes against the norms of the revenge movie. Revenge will feel like a solitary endeavor. In “John Wick,” for example, the titular character works almost entirely alone. While Amleth does most of the revenge deeds, he wouldn’t have been able to fulfill his own personal destiny without Olga’s magic.

Taylor-Joy adds another strong performance to her resume after last year’s standout role in Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho.” She, like Kidman, adds more nuance and intrigue to the action-filled epic. The performances add to the clever story and incredible set pieces to make us question what we think a revenge movie can be.

Along with the Viking setting and his trademark historical accuracy, Eggers’ story feels authentic, and the revenge narrative certainly feels uniquely genre-defining.

Published on April 26, 2022 at 10:10 pm