ROBIN HOOD

HUGH JACKMAN TURNS FOLKLORE INSIDE OUT FOR LAST DAYS OF A HERO

by PETER THOMAS BUSCH

The Legend of Robin Hood twists and turns from folk stories in the oral tradition to written verse centuries after his death to contemporary dramatizations and reputation checks.

Director Michael Sarnoski creates a dark telling of Robin Hood trying to cleanse his soul during his last moments.

Sarnoski has Robin Hood himself tearing apart the legend of hero, even spending a bit of time having the characters questioning the authenticity of many of the stories created without any connection to the truth.

Robin Hood and Little John have done so much robbing and murdering that they cannot themselves distinguish what they actually did do from what has been embellished and fabricated in folklore.

Hugh Jackman plays Robin Hood as emotionally exhausted from the constant battles with the legend, as he also finds himself hunted by the ancestors of the people he has killed. To make matters even worse, Robin Hood is also physically compromised from all the battle scars he has collected over the years.

Sarnoski creates a dark, cold world that almost justifies the violent conduct as necessary in an unforgiving daily struggle to survive during 13^th Century England.

The camera follows Robin Hood through the harsh landscape until he arrives at a healing center on an island.

Jodie Comer plays the Prioress, Sister Bridget, who has created a community of healing patients and orphaned children at the Priory of St. Clement.

Comer performs the character as a nurturing healer who is content with the virtuous life she has created in a dark world. Sarnoski paints Comer into the narrative with chiaroscuro lighting, like an angelic presence in English portraiture paintings.

Sister Bridget, who has herself come to terms with her past of tragic loss, contrasts with a brooding Robin Hood filled with regret.

Jackman creates a folk hero tired of having to live with his deeds as every turn he must confront a story or a victim of his adventures.

Composer Jim Ghedi provides a score that fills in the background at certain moments, but the musical lament does not overpower the camera.  The narrative is compelled forward by the possibility of another thrilling adventure with Jackman maintaining interest in the unpredictability of his encounters with other characters, while the camera is slow to distinguish friend from foe, and always unsurprised by another attempt at a revenge killing.

The score maintains the tone and atmosphere of the film as if lending a bit of kinetic energy to the dark, brooding adventure as Robin Hood searches for a safe psychological space.

At the same time, cinematographer Pat Scola maintains that dark motif of portraiture and brooding adventures of folklore.

Robin Hood is shown to be so overwhelmed by the guilt of so many questionable acts, to the extent that he cannot remember all of what he has done, that he wants to die.

The Death of Robin Hood is streaming on Prime Video.