The Northman review: Ben O’Shea’s take on Alexander Skarsgard’s Viking epic

With enough violence to make the Red Wedding from Game of Thrones look more like Brooklyn Beckham’s nuptials, Alexander Skarsgard’s Viking epic The Northman is a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.

That’s no coincidence given the film is based on the tale of Amleth, the same medieval Icelandic folklore that was the inspiration behind one of the Bard’s most iconic works.

And old mate didn’t exactly the hide the fact — you don’t need an English literature degree to work out which play Amleth inspired, just take the “h” off the end, pop it at the front and there you go: Hamlet.

But where Shakespeare’s version was full of Danish blokes in tights, swanning about wondering whether it was better “to be, or not to be”, director Robert Eggers went even deeper than the Icelandic original to create what just might be the most historically accurate depiction of Vikings ever committed to the screen.

So, yeah, as you’d expect, the film doesn’t shy away from the brutality of the era as it recounts the story of a Viking boy prince, whose father, King Aurvandill (Ethan Hawke), is betrayed by his own brother, Fjolnir (Claes Bang), who steals the throne and makes off with the boy’s mum, Queen Gudrun (Nicole Kidman).

Skarsgard plays the adult Amleth, who, after years of exile, finds himself in a band of Berserkers, with the dream of exacting bloody revenge on his dastardly uncle never far from his mind.

When that chance finally arises, it requires our hero to assume the role of a captured slave in Fjolnir’s kingdom, where he runs into a cunning and equally vengeful fellow slave, Olga, played by Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy.

Skarsgard, who also served as producer on the film and whose Swedish heritage suggests an even closer relationship to the source material, is an incredible specimen on screen, having gained an insane amount of muscle for the role.

But his performance is even more imposing, towering above his castmates, although Bang certainly holds his own.

Kidman, meanwhile, feels miscast, and is a slight letdown in a near-perfect film.

Eggers, who collaborated with acclaimed Icelandic poet Sjon on the screenplay, has crafted a masterpiece that, along with previous films, The Witch and The Lighthouse, establishes him as one of Hollywood’s most exciting filmmakers.

The Northman is in cinemas from April 21.