Beowulf & Grendel

Beowulf & Grendel is a 2005 film Canadian-Icelandic fantasy adventure film directed by Sturla Gunnarsson, loosely based on the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. It stars Gerard Butler as Beowulf, Stellan Skarsgård as Hrothgar, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as Grendel and Sarah Polley as the witch Selma. The screenplay was written by Andrew Rai Berzins. The soundtrack was composed by Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.

Beowulf & Grendel
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySturla Gunnarsson
Produced byMichael Cowan
Sturla Gunnarsson
Eric Jordan
Anna María Karlsdóttir
Jason Piette
Paul Stephens
Written byAndrew Rai Berzins
StarringGerard Butler
Stellan Skarsgård
Ingvar Sigurðsson
Sarah Polley
Eddie Marsan
Tony Curran
Ronan Vibert
Rory McCann
Martin Delaney
Music byHilmar Örn Hilmarsson
CinematographyJan Kiesser
Edited byJeff Warren
Distributed byTruly Indie
Release date
  • 14 September 2005 (2005-09-14) (Toronto International Film Festival)
  • 10 March 2006 (2006-03-10) (Canada)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryCanada
Iceland
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The film was a cooperative effort among Eurasia Motion Pictures (Canada), Spice Factory (UK), and Bjolfskvida (Iceland), and it was filmed in Iceland.

In 2006, a documentary of the difficult making of Beowulf and Grendel, called Wrath of Gods, was released and went on to win six film awards in Europe and the U.S.

Setting

While some of the film remains true to the original poem, other plot elements deviate from the original poem: four new characters (Grendel's father, the witch Selma, Father Brendan, and Grendel's son) are introduced, and several related plot points were developed specifically for the film.

The story takes place in the early half of the 6th century CE in what is now Denmark, but the filming of the movie in Iceland provided many panoramic views of that country's landscape.

Plot

In 500 CE, Hrothgar, king of Denmark, and a group of warriors chase a large and burly man, whom they consider a troll, and his young son, who already bears cheek and chin whiskers, to the edge of a steep seaside cliff. The father directs his young son, Grendel, to hide from the attackers' view; whereupon The Danes shoot the father dead, and his dead body plunges onto the beach far below. The Danish king sees the young Grendel, but spares him. Later, Grendel finds his father's body and cuts the head off to take it home. Many years later, the severed (and mummified) head is inside a cave, apparently the centerpiece of a primitive memorial. The boy Grendel has now become as large and powerful as his father, and contemplating the head, he plans revenge.

When Hrothgar finds twenty of his warriors killed inside his great hall, the Danish king falls into a depression. Beowulf, with the permission of Hygelac, king of Geatland, sails to Denmark with thirteen Geats to slay Grendel for Hrothgar. The arrival of Beowulf and his warriors is welcomed by Hrothgar, but the king's village has fallen into a deep despair and many of the pagan villagers convert to Christianity at the urging of an Irish monk. While Grendel does raid Hrothgar's village during the night, he flees rather than fight. Selma the witch tells Beowulf that Grendel will not fight him because Beowulf has committed no wrong against him.

A villager, recently baptized and thus now unafraid of death, leads Beowulf and his men to the cliff above Grendel's cave. When the villager is found dead, Beowulf and his men return with a rope and gain entry to Grendel's secret cave, where one of Beowulf's men mutilates the mummified head of Grendel's father. That night, Grendel invades Hrothgar's great hall, kills the Geat who desecrated his father's head, and leaps from the second story, but is caught in a trap by Beowulf. Grendel, refusing capture, escapes by severing his captive arm, and dies near the site of his father's death, where his body is claimed by a mysterious webbed hand. Thereafter Hrothgar admits to Beowulf that he had killed Grendel's father for stealing a fish but had spared the child Grendel out of pity. Grendel's severed arm is kept by the Danes as a trophy. In revealing more about Grendel, Selma recounts that Grendel had once clumsily raped her and has protected her since that day; and Beowulf becomes her paramour.

The Danes are later attacked by Grendel's mother, the Sea Hag. Beowulf slays her with a sword from among her treasure, and then notices that the battle had been observed by the child of Grendel and Selma. Later Beowulf, with Grendel's son watching, buries Grendel with ceremony. Shortly thereafter, Beowulf and his band of Geats leave Denmark by ship, having warned Selma that she must hide her son, lest the Danes destroy him.

Cast

Themes

The film attempts to retell the classic tale as a historical epic. Andrew Rai Berzins, in his blog, states that he intended that Grendel resemble a sasquatch. Other viewers have felt that Grendel and his father are instead remnants of Neanderthals, who are known to have survived in isolated populations in the far north as modern humans moved in. Beowulf, as presented, constantly doubts the Danes' assertion (and later, that of his own men) that the troll is purely evil. Accordingly, Beowulf deeply regrets the need to destroy Grendel, which he considers necessary due to Grendel's murders, regardless of the justifications.

Another theme of the film is that of Christianity's introduction into pagan civilization. As Grendel's reign of terror continues with no end in sight, the people of the village turn away from their Norse gods, which seem to offer no help, to the Christian Jesus, whom they are told forgives all.

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Beowulf and Grendel holds an approval rating of 47%, based on 34 reviews, and an average rating of 5.42/10. It's consensus reads, "Despite the impressive Icelandic scenery, Beowulf And Grendel fails to find its footing in the transition from epic tale to the big screen."[1] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[2]


Todd McCarthy of Variety stated that the film was "too genteel" in spite of its impressive cinematography and believability.[3] Mick LaSalle from The San Francisco Chronicle felt that, by attempting to make the classic legend a morality tale, it lessened the film's impact, also criticizing Polly as being miscast.[4]

The film was not without its supporters. Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum commended the film for its naturalistic approach, and direction.[5]

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References
  1. "Beowulf and Grendel (2006) – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.com. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  2. "Beowulf and Grendel reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  3. McCarthy, Todd (October 13, 2005). "Beowulf & Grendel". Variety.com. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  4. LaSalle, Mick (June 30, 2006). "Beowulf meets girl; girl meets troll. Eeew". SF Gate.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  5. Schwarzbaum, Lisa (July 12, 2006). "Beowulf & Grendel". EW.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
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