When a title such as The Death of Robin Hood you know how it’s going to end and Hugh Jackman is on sombre form as the Lincoln legend man in tights as so often seen in those old films but instead here dons weather beaten frayed brown sack cloth that even fashionista f**k wit Jaden Smith might think twice about wearing.
The Death of Robin Hood is inevitable….
It’s 1247AD and we first encounter him on a windswept wilderness. He is far from the legend of the man who robbed from the rich to give to the poor. His M.O. was very much rob from anyone, keep it and then kill them. He is every inch the murderous criminal. Men, women, children, animals – in this film no is spared and he is an outlaw on the run from father, husbands brothers out for revenge. He is briefly reunited with Little John (Bill Skarsgaard) that soon ends in violence with Robin badly injured and finding refuge in a priory where head prioress Brigid (Jodie Comer) nurses him back to health in exchange for him helping out trapping food – anyone with a pet rabbit might want to look away.
As his body gradually healing perhaps his soul is too possibly becoming more humanized when Little John’s daughter arrives at the priory and he takes her under his wing teaching her how to make a bow and use it. It’s a gradual path to some sort of redemption but it’s inevitable that this can’t last. Death is all around him and is never far away, ‘All lies that I told long ago that follow me into the dark’.
Robbing the rich….
Written and directed by Michael Sanoski whose previous films include the indie film ‘Pig’ with Nicolas Cage and the blockbuster prequel ‘A Quiet Place : Day One’ but ‘The Death of Robin Hood’ is downbeat, dour told in muted tones and occasionally expressionist style with hints of Robert Eggers excellent ‘The Northman’. A little slow for some this is far from the action hero seen in so many previous films. What action there is violent and often excruciating. The Death of Robin Hood is a revisionist take on the legend and that combined with its two excellent leads make this worth a look.
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Here’s the trailer…..
