Monty Python and the Holy Grail subverts narrative conventions and pushes the viewer to constantly question what is coming next. The film cuts between storylines, time periods, animation styles and builds climaxes that meet resolutions that rapidly discard the work and time that built said climaxes. Mittell (2004) deduces that Monty Python’s style can be defined by it’s “narrative complexity”, that is, the group’s desire to create films that subvert popular narrative formulas. The group utilises satire, absurdity and comedic techniques to deconstruct established and popularised narrative conventions. Namely, the film uses anachronisms to accentuate its satirical intent. Characters constantly oppose the apparent historical setting by engaging in modern debates, such as constitutional politics in England: “Well, I didn’t vote for you” (Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975). Additionally, a second story is set up alongside the Knights of the Round Table’s quest for the Holy Grail, that in which a Historian is murdered whilst reporting on the life of King Arthur. This discrepancy between narratives ensues a sense of unreliable narration, one in which the viewer is now unsure of the setting and time period of the Knights existence. The entire film works towards the Knights goal of attaining the Grail — a quest in which materialises to finally resolve as the troops rally to storm the island that supposedly holds the Grail — yet at the peak of audience anticipation, the two timelines finally collide to foreclose a seemingly unsatisfactory conclusion. Through narrative complexity, Monty Python and the Holy Grail subverts viewer expectations, thus amplifying viewer engagement by way of keeping the viewer on their toes and second guessing everything (until an abrupt ending ties most loose ends).
Sources
Gilliam T and Jones T (directors) (1975) Monty Python and the Holy Grail [motion picture], EMI Films, United Kingdom.
Mittell J (2004) Genre and Television: From Cop Shows to Cartoons in American Culture, Routledge, New York and London.