Simplistic description of the circle of violence, masculinity as well as falsehood and limits of religion. Although, the mythology was also used as comforting - partly what the falsehood of religion and circle of violence were related to - and it was tied well to the mundane, secular world which brought a lot of visual flourish to the film.

Structure on the other hand was rather weird because of how bland it came across as. Many narrative elements were stated directly in order to give room for the mythology which fits Eggers' style of experimentation with authenticity and (oppressive) craziness. But even those aspects felt somewhat hollow. It would've been fine if compared to his earlier works the oddness and general content were on the same level. Unfortunately much of the film consisted of violence and shouting and blood with nothing fresh or alluring in almost any subsequent elaborate fight sequence. In a way The Northman's storytelling became a bit predictable. Then again I would say the final result is very fitting for the themes and therefore the predictability harms the movie less.

I'm slightly disappointed about the lack of innovative ideas but there were many entertaining elements. I started to dig the score after being unimpressed at first and Eggers' collabs with Blaschke always create something incredibly atmospheric.