The release of Robert Eggers The Northman trailer has alerted our horror senses to be once again psychologically challenged and thrilled by the director of critical and cult classics like The Lighthouse and The Witch. The upcoming film is going to be an epic historical thriller about a Viking prince who set out to avenge his father, during the 10th century in Iceland. As compelling as the trailer looked and the plot sounds, the cast made up of the best actors in today’s world is what actually seals the deal for the audience.
The Northman features Alexander Skarsgård as Amleth (the Viking Prince and our protagonist), Nicole Kidman as Queen Gudrún, Claes Bang as Fjölnir, Anya Taylor-Joy as Olga, Ethan Hawke as King Aurvandill, Björk as the Seeress, Willem Dafoe as Heimir the Fool, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as Sorcerer and Murray McArthur as Hákon Ironbeard and several others. Interesting, right? However, what is more interesting is the unusual connection we found out in regards to the characters played by actors Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgård in this film and a project they have done in the past that unknowingly gives a beautiful meaning to Eggers’ film and its theme.
The Northman: A Hamlet In All True Sense
The trailer and the blurb of the film pretty much gives away the inspiration it takes from Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, where we have the Prince of Denmark- Hamlet, avenge his father’s death which happened at the hands of his uncle. The name of Skarsgård’s character in this film is Amleth- a Scandinavian legendary character inspired by Hamlet, furthermore establishing the connection between the Shakespearian tragedy and Eggers’ thriller.
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So, for the ones who have read Hamlet and for the ones who haven’t, the story is not only famous as a tragic revenge story but, also for its strong psychological hold over the Oedipus complex, as given in the Freudian theory. This complex is defined as the emotions aroused in a child (here, Hamlet), by an unconscious sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex (here, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude). This connection is very prominent in The Northman trailer where Skarsgård keeps chanting almost like a desire: “I will save you, Mother”.
However, the beautiful and strange connection that can be drawn from Amleth’s story to be sexually attracted to his mother, Gudrún goes back to the HBO series Big Little Lies. In this thrilling drama, we saw Kidman and Skarsgård portray the role of a rather abusive married couple. The fact that Nicole Kidman has played the wife and now is posing as the mother for Alexander Skarsgård is truly the magic of cinema where things connect knowingly and unknowingly, giving the audience a wholesome experience.
Check out The Northman Trailer below:
The film is scheduled to be theatrically released on April 22, 2022, by Focus Features.
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