The Green Knight, the latest film from David Lowery, is an adaptation of the 14th century Arthurian poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but modern audiences may be in for a surprise as the film subverts traditional expectations that may come from a Knight of the Round Table. Gawain may be an elite knight in Arthurian legends, but here, played by the charismatic Dev Patel, he is just a callow child of royalty content with getting drunk and playing around in a brothel. Lowery takes this classic piece of literature and transforms it to a majestic adventure of morality and self-discovery that leaves an enchanting spell on you. It’s a film that successfully manages to stay in your head for a while, allowing you to think of the themes explored along with the visual delight that just happened after seeing it.

The central premise itself is a way to examine the chivalric virtues of Arthurian knights. Lowery breaks the film into cinematic chapters to effectively display that a knight’s greatness is not usually achieved by overcoming physical adversity, but is often about a test of one’s morality and mental strength. Gawain has always dreamed of becoming a great man, and believes that becoming a knight is the answer. So when his uncle King Arthur (Sean Harris) invites him to sit by his side during a Christmas banquet and asks for a story, Gawain confesses in shame that he has none to tell. “Yet,” Queen Guinevere (Kate Dickie) answers.

And on cue, the door bursts open and an imposing shadowy figure enters the hall. Half-man, half-tree, the Green Knight slowly approaches and lays a challenge to the knights of the Round Table: land a strike on the Green Knight and and they can get his battle axe in exchange. However, in one year, the knight must come to the Green Chapel and see the exact same blow returned from the Green Knight. The hall falls silent, but Gawain, eager to prove his worth, sees this opportunity to achieve greatness, and accepts the challenge. As he walks towards the Green Knight, King Arthur reminds him that this is only a game. Despite this reminder, Gawain goes on and decapitates this otherworldly creature. Much to his surprise, the Green Knight gets up, retrieves his head, and leaves an ominous warning to Gawain, “one year hence.” It’s going to be a long year for Gawain.

This all merely serves as a prologue, as the majority of The Green Knight follows Sir Gawain’s reluctant journey to fulfill his end of the bargain. I’ll leave it to other articles to bring a more in-depth analysis on the themes of the story, and I’m certain this centuries-old poem has been discussed numerous times since. But the major question this film explores is uttered in a conversation between Gawain and his lover Essel (Alicia Vikander). Before Gawain sets out on his journey, Essel pursuades him to stay, asking why is goodness not enough, and concludes “this is how silly men die.” Indeed, Gawain is so bent on basking in the glory and power that comes from being a knight that he’s forgotten how to be a good man. This misguided venture is the central idea that binds the structure of the film. Along the way, he encounters a scavenger (Barry Koeghan) in a blood-soaked battlefield, a lonely spirit looking for peace (Erin Kellyman), and a benevolent lord (Joel Edgerton) whose wife mysteriously resembles a lover back home. Each of these events are there to challenge Gawain’s sheltered ideals, and to show what kind of man he really is as he plunges more and more into disillusion.

Once the film ventures out of Camelot, Lowery fills the film with fascinating, evocative images. Barren battlefields full of dead bodies, lush and disorienting forests, and ravenous mountains with walking giants are shot with such majesty (thanks to cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo) that Camelot feels like a bubble, a small speck in the grand scheme of the world. These scenes of visual poetry contribute to the fish-out-of-water character of Gawain who’s heavily burdened by his fate waiting for him in the Green Chapel, only elevated by Dev Patel’s subtle expressions and effortless performance. It’s the kind of mesmerizing journey that takes audiences along for the ride, and transports your into a whole new realm of magic and fantasy. It’s truly one of the most beautiful films I’ve seen this year.

The Green Knight is at its best during its silent sequences, relying only on the film’s striking visuals and subtle action to control the narrative. Although it asks a lot from its viewers due to its slow pace and action-less set pieces, Lowery understands the core message of its main theme without baring it all at once. At its heart is a lesson that subverts traditional heroism as one would expect, but still as timeless as the story its adapted from – that no matter how far you travel for glory, the voyage of becoming a hero can simply be a battle of one’s own ideals, morals, and virtue.

Rating: ★★★★½