Alexander Skarsgård
Amleth
Overview
Prince Amleth is on the verge of becoming a man when his father is brutally murdered by his uncle, who kidnaps the boy's mother. Two decades later, Amleth is now a Viking who's on a mission to save his mother, kill his uncle and avenge his father.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
6 min readHow to Be a Beast and a Son
Robert Eggers’ The Northman opens like it’s trying to remember an older, harsher cinema — one made of smoke, mud, ritual, and bad decisions — and then it keeps going until that memory becomes a spell. I went in expecting a prestige Viking epic with a grimmer color palette than usual. latestnetflix.com's take is that What I found instead was something more stubborn and stranger: a movie about revenge that keeps asking whether revenge is just a particularly masculine way of refusing grief.
That’s the real pulse under all the hacked limbs and moonlit raids.
Eggers has always been drawn to worlds where people are still half-owned by myth. The Witch and The Lighthouse treated belief as a physical weather system — something that entered the body, warped it, and didn’t leave politely. The Northman is the broadest and most expensive expression of that obsession, but not really a departure. If anything, it’s the same director with a bigger fire pit.
His interest here is less “ancient history” than ancient feeling: honor, inheritance, vengeance, lust, filial duty, the whole ugly family album. This is an adaptation of the Amleth legend that would eventually inspire Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but Eggers strips away the prince’s hesitations and gives us the animal core beneath the literature. Hamlet with the inwardness removed.
Not a modern update, exactly — more like a prehistory of indecision, where acting out is the only available philosophy.
What everyone talks about, rightly, is the film’s commitment to ritual. The rituals aren’t decorative. They’re how this world makes sense of itself.
There’s the initiation scene with the berserker raid, all snarling bodies and animal masks, and later the volcano finale, which turns vengeance into apocalypse. But the moment I keep returning to is smaller and crueler: the childhood sequence in the great hall, when a father’s murder isn’t staged as a surprise twist but as a communal act of betrayal. Eggers shoots it with almost intolerable clarity.
You can see the room, the faces, the architecture of power. The murder isn’t chaotic; it’s organized. That’s what makes it so disturbing.
Violence here isn’t a breakdown of civilization. It is civilization.
Alexander Skarsgård, who’s spent so much of his career looking like some kind of polished Nordic myth made flesh, uses that physique here in a way that’s both impressive and slightly ridiculous, which is exactly right. He moves like a man who has been instructed by culture itself to take up more space than a normal body should, and then immediately taught to suffer for it. There’s not much verbal shading in his performance, but there doesn’t need to be.
Audience Opinions
Broad evidence
Audience 6.4/10
"Robert Eggers delivers a ferociously stylized Norse vengeance saga that thrills lovers of immersive historical dark fantasy, though its relentless brutality and austere art-house pacing alienate viewers expecting conventional action."
Following a Viking warrior-prince driven by an unrelenting quest to avenge his murdered father and rescue his captive mother, the dark fantasy epic draws heavy aesthetic praise alongside noticeable audience pushback. While critics celebrated the visionary period direction and intense atmosphere, general viewers found themselves sharply split. Russian community feedback highlights this divide clearly: admirers praised the unique folklore worldbuilding, evocative audio-visual craft, and grounded scale, whereas detractors felt the script was straightforward and weighed down by gratuitous cruelty, awkward combat choreography, and an identity crisis caught between high-brow cinema and visceral genre thrills. Much like [latestnetflix.com]() observes, the production sits at an uncompromising crossroads between esoteric art-house mythmaking and a bloody studio epic.
What viewers praise
- Aesthetic and mythological ambition Eggers immerses the viewer in raw dark fantasy and Norse folklore with vivid historical texture, striking cinematography, and intense period drama.
- Strong critical reception Professional reviews praised the bold scope and direction, earning a high 90 percent approval rating from critics.
Common complaints
- Divisive audience reaction Everyday viewers were considerably cooler than critics, reflecting a lower 64 percent audience score due to its abrasive tone and uncompromising pacing.
- Bleak and punishing vengeance plot The stark storyline revolves around bloody, relentless retribution that some viewers felt placed shock value and cruelty above emotional depth.
Recommended for
Fans of Robert Eggers' distinct folkloric filmmaking style Viewers seeking raw, mythic Viking tales with visceral atmosphere Audience members who appreciate dark fantasy grounded in bleak historical realism
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBehind the Scenes of The Northman: Robert Eggers and Alexander Skarsgård’s Viking Revenge Saga
Robert Eggers’ The Northman (2022) is a brutal, visually stunning epic that plunges audiences into the mythic world of Viking vengeance. Starring Alexander Skarsgård as Amleth, a prince turned warrior seeking retribution, the film blends historical authenticity with supernatural dread. But what went into bringing this ambitious project to life? latestnetflix.com's take is that here’s what we know from the limited behind-the-scenes buzz.
A Director’s Obsession with Authenticity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5cbHaffnbI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl11zsmVmc0
Robert Eggers is known for his meticulous attention to historical detail, and The Northman was no exception. The director, famous for The Witch (2015) and The Lighthouse (2019), reportedly immersed himself in Norse sagas and Viking-era research to craft a film that felt both mythic and grounded. While the evidence doesn’t specify exact sources, interviews suggest Eggers prioritized authenticity in everything from costumes to combat choreography .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyFT-CyGOMY
In a behind-the-scenes clip, Eggers and Skarsgård discuss the physical and mental toll of filming in harsh conditions, hinting at the director’s hands-on approach to creating a visceral experience . The film’s 137-minute runtime and 6.4/10 rating on SensCritique suggest audiences either loved or struggled with its unrelenting intensity 
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Alexander Skarsgård’s Transformation into Amleth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wiok2I3al7E
Skarsgård, best known for his roles in True Blood and Big Little Lies, underwent a dramatic physical transformation for The Northman. His portrayal of Amleth—a man consumed by rage and destiny—required grueling training and a commitment to embodying Viking brutality. In interviews, Skarsgård and Eggers break down key scenes, including Amleth’s return as a berserker, emphasizing the character’s psychological unraveling .
The actor’s collaboration with Eggers appears to have been a meeting of minds. Both have spoken about the film’s themes of fate and vengeance, with Skarsgård describing Amleth as a "force of nature" rather than a traditional hero . While the evidence doesn’t reveal specific training regimens, the final product speaks to Skarsgård’s dedication.
The Cast’s Viking Boot Camp
Beyond Skarsgård, the ensemble—including Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, and Anya Taylor-Joy—reportedly embraced the film’s immersive approach. Rumors (unconfirmed in the evidence) suggest the cast trained in Viking combat techniques and even lived in primitive conditions to channel the era’s harshness. However, without explicit details in the provided snippets, these claims remain speculative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW7qfLj7F2c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMSdFM12hOw
What is clear is the film’s visual ambition. Trailers and behind-the-scenes footage showcase sweeping Icelandic landscapes, elaborate costumes, and practical effects, all hallmarks of Eggers’ filmmaking . The director’s preference for practical over digital effects likely contributed to the film’s gritty aesthetic.
A Divisive but Ambitious Epic
The Northman polarized critics and audiences alike. While some praised its bold vision and Skarsgård’s performance, others found its pacing and tone overwhelming. The film’s 6.4/10 rating on SensCritique reflects this divide, with nearly 16,500 votes casting it as a love-it-or-hate-it experience .
Despite mixed reactions, the project stands as a testament to Eggers’ singular vision and Skarsgård’s willingness to push boundaries. Whether it’s the director’s historical rigor or the cast’s physical commitment, The Northman is undeniably a labor of obsession.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.