I must say that I’ve started to like this ‘the death of’ concept. Last year’s The Death of Snow White, directed by Jason Brooks, had also turned everything known about the classic Snow White film into a much darker theme. The Death of Robin Hood does something similar and turns the English folk hero, the Robin Hood character who takes from the rich and gives to the poor, into a more realistic form, offering the chance to watch the story from a completely different perspective. I must say that I like this ‘the death of’ concept, which has the mission of flipping a well-known story upside down and making it darker.
Hell, even The Carpenter’s Son, which came out last year, could fit this concept. Because it was reinterpreting the Jesus story we all know in a dark way. Where is this going to end? I hope one day we don’t end up watching a dark The Death of Mickey Mouse film. Filmmakers, under the influence of the Backrooms, have started raiding platforms like Reddit to find new horror stories these days. Let me say it right now: if one day we watch a dark Mickey Mouse story, I’ll step forward and say this idea was first mine, and I’ll make it pretty legally difficult for you..
Anyway, I’ve started rambling.. The Death of Robin Hood is the new film from Michael Sarnoski, the talented director you might remember from Pig (2021) and A Quiet Place: Day One. Even though he’s signed some really good works, for some reason he’s not being talked about as much as the world’s youngest director who just turned 21 last week. Yet here we are witnessing the birth of a director who will do much better things in the future. It’s worth talking about him.The Death of Robin Hood is a dark and ruthless reimagining that completely flips the classic Robin Hood legend on its head.
As you know, Robin Hood is one of the most beloved heroes of English folklore, the one who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. In this film, however, Robin Hood says to himself, “It’s all lies upon lies. I’m a murderer and a thief, I killed for pleasure, I stole for goods.” Right after hearing such a thing from Robin Hood, a young girl who finds herself in the ‘never meet your heroes’ situation tries to kill him. But Robin beats her to it and kills himself. So as you can see, the film signals from the very beginning that it will turn all the heroic narrative attributed to Robin Hood completely upside down.
Then the story picks up speed with the arrival of his old friend Little John (Bill Skarsgård). John asks Robin for help to get back the farm that was taken from him. Together they carry out a bloody raid; innocent people, children, and even animals die in this attack. Robin is badly wounded and Little John leaves him at St. Clement Monastery on a rugged rocky island in Northern Ireland. In the monastery, Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer) slowly treats Robin. Here, Robin bonds with the young orphan girl Margaret, teaches her archery, and begins to show compassion towards someone for the first time. The crimes in his past, the people and families he killed, come to his mind. Remorse, the cycle of revenge, and the search for redemption sit at the center of the film. The monastery scenes are calmer and more contemplative, they are the moments where the film breathes; here Robin tries to “become human” at least a little.
Actually, the story doesn’t feel like a reimagining of Robin Hood but rather like a reimagining of the Logan movie because of all these details in the narrative. The bond he forms with a little girl, the desire to die, the regrets of the past — just like in Logan, they are at the center of this film too. So narratively it feels like we’re watching something like Logan, and visually like a version of The Northman and The Revenant melted and cooked in the same pot. Is this dish tasteless? Are you crazy? Not at all. Who wouldn’t love a story where Hugh Jackman faces his past crimes, wants to die, and in the meantime bonds with a little girl and remembers his human side and his conscience again? Even though it’s a film that probably won’t create a huge cultural impact and will be forgotten, The Death of Robin Hood is definitely a production that gives you immense pleasure both narratively and visually in every single second.
