The Northman

04/27/22 • 39 min

Shirley Li, David Sims, and Sophie Gilbert discuss the brutal new blockbuster The Northman. From the director of The Lighthouse and The Witch and based on the viking legend that inspired Hamlet, the film is a visceral experience that’s hard to summarize: Is it an arthouse revenge epic? A viking myth about toxic-masculinity? Shakespeare for people who love crossfit?

The Northman joins The Green Knight and The Last Duel as part of a trend of recent films recontextualizing medieval tales. David, Shirley, and Sophie unpack that trend. They discuss the 10th century tale the film is based on, how both Shakespeare and director Robert Eggers adapted it, and how modern storytelling has tried to bring the historical experiences of women into these hypermasculine myths.

Further reading:

The Northman Is an Unsentimental Portrait of a Hero

Coming Soon:

Severance

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Further reading:

The Northman Is an Unsentimental Portrait of a Hero

Coming Soon:

Severance

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Shirley Li, David Sims, and Spencer Kornhaber discuss the hit action comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once. At a time when every show or movie has a multiverse, how does this film’s “verse-jumping” manage to be so cathartic it made us cry?

The trio follows up on last week’s discussion of Turning Red to unpack how this movie uses a multiverse to convey the experience of an immigrant family. They also unpack Michelle Yeoh’s incredible career and how the film’s unique mix of silliness and sentiment gave her an opportunity she’s waited years for.

Further reading:

Coming Soon:

The Northman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next Episode

Severance

The Apple TV+ dystopian thriller Severance is one of the most acclaimed shows of the year. Its grim take on the furthest extreme of "work-life balance" speaks to our strained pandemic-era relationship with the workplace and, according to our critics, offers a gripping throwback to an era of prestige TV before (as David Sims sees it) Netflix ruined everything.

Spencer Kornhaber, Sophie Gilbert, and David Sims go down the elevator to Lumon’s basement to talk waffle parties, real-life workplace anxieties, and what dystopian sci-fis they recommend besides Severance.

Further reading: