Hollywood Reviews and Movie Trivia

If you're a fan of classic fantasy fiction in the vein of the King Arthur stories, Lord of the Rings, or the Robin Hood mythology, you're likely already familiar with the epic poem Beowulf. The story is required reading in many high school English classes and is often provided in a translation barely palatable to the vocabulary of the common teenager. If you can get past the complicated wording, the story is a well crafted hero's tale of a knight who slays a dangerous beast in a far off land and ultimately dies a hero while fighting a dragon.

Instead of playing out like an epic tale of hero who comes to slay the beast, Beowulf & Grendel is a complex twist of human fear of the unknown and clouded morality that add a depth to an otherwise hollow epilogue to a fallen hero. Beowulf (played by Gerard Butler) embarks on what he thinks is a simple quest to defeat a menace, finding himself in doubt that slaying the monster is ultimately the right course of action. The almost-human troll Grendel is exacting his revenge on the Danes for slaying his father. The Danes are suffering with a ruler trapped in an alcoholic depression, while losing faith in their pantheon of gods who seemingly abandoned them in their time of need. Christian Missionary Brendan attempts to show the Danes a new path and a mysterious witch holds the key to many of the complicated details between.

Director Sturla Gunnarsson and screenwriter Andrew Rai Berzins collaborated to update the Beowulf poem to a story worthy of feature film material. Against an expansive backdrop of Icelandic countryside, the story is gorgeously framed with beautiful landscapes, harsh weather and frequent encounters with a turbulent sea. Native Icelandic horses are used for riding sequences, adding realism often lost in the overuse of massive draft horses common to other period epics. A great hall and small Danish town look like the cast stepped back in time. Byzantine-style armor likely popular at the time creates an imposing appearance for the warriors.

The story starts off a little slow, but once it gets going you'll get caught up in the twisting plot, as you try to decide whether to root for Grendel in his quest for revenge or Beowulf's Geats who arrive to assist the Danes. The witch Selma (played by Sarah Polley) plays an integral role in helping Beowulf sort out his own ghosts in a quest to find the path of right in his pursuit of Grendel. While the film follows the general flow of the original poem, it adds depth and leaves the Beowulf epic (which might leave room for a sequel?) shortly after the story of Grendel.

This is a great epic film reminiscent of some of the period pieces coming out of China in recent years, with similarly breathtaking landscapes and a more natural lighting to set the classic English tale in a rough and ready environment. The movie opens in limited run on Friday June 16, 2006 and should gradually open across the United States over the summer months after already enjoying a 14-week run in Canada. DVD release is likely for late in the year as well. I highly recommend seeing Beowulf & Grendel in the theater for the full effect of the size of landscapes and scenery.

Hear an Interview with Director Sturla Gunnarsson

Watch the Beowulf Trailer and find theaters