The Green Knight (2021)

Writer-director David Lowery has become one of the most interesting and exciting auteurs in cinema. This massive left turn for him into the legend of King Arthur thankfully hews far closer to John Boormans 80's classic Excalibur than Guy Ritchie's nadir, though in truth is a far more art-house experience. Dev Patel and Alicia Vikander excel in their meatiest roles in years and the production design is stunning and stylish throughout. Some occasional drifts into boredom and deviations from the source material - the story of Gawain and the Green Knight - that are both huge successes at times and let downs at others don't stop it being one of they years best and most interesting films.