Death Is A Reward To Be Earned In Brutal New, R-Rated Hugh Jackman Thriller

By Chris Sawin
| Published 34 seconds ago

Written and directed by Michael Sarnoski (Pig, A Quiet Place: Day One), The Death of Robin Hood sees a grayer version of Robin Hood (Hugh Jackman) residing in the country, attempting to forget the lore that surrounds him, which he claims is all false apart from the stealing and killing. In a way, this older version of Robin Hood begs for death. He wants nothing more than his story to finally end, but he has also only known murderous ways for so long that he can’t let them go. So he’s cursed to continue on living a life of infamy, regret, and bloodshed.

During his last real battle, Robin is horribly injured. He’s cared for by Little John (Bill Skarsgard) and his daughter Margaret (Faith Delaney), but his wounds are too severe. Little John leaves Robin at a monastery, where he’s placed in the care of Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer), and while she nurses him back to health, Robin knows that this will be his final resting place.

Front Loads The Violence

The Death of Robin Hood is relentless in its violence, pausing slightly early on to showcase the bond Robin and Little John still share. A young boy has an arrow pierce the back of his skull and emerge through one of his eye sockets. Later, he’s seen walking around speaking gibberish. Robin also mutilates a man’s hand with a knife before shoving a flaming torch down his throat. This is after the opening of the film, which sees Robin stab a woman to death in the snow by piercing the side of her throat and having a meaningful conversation with her as she bleeds out before shoving his blade in her brain.

Speaking of Little John, Bill Skarsgard is unrecognizable with his short hair, scraggly beard, and gravelly voice until he looks directly into the camera. His screen time is short, but impactful. He has a scene where he transitions from rage-fused vengeance with tears streaming down his face in anger to a caring father reassuring his daughter that everything will be alright so quickly.

Equal Parts Brutal And Beautiful

One aspect of The Death of Robin Hood that may not be met with total acclaim is that the film has no further conflict once Robin reaches the monastery. The second half of the film goes in a completely different direction from the first half, which will either make you love the film more or hate it entirely. Tension rises between Robin and Sister Brigid, Robin and The Leper, and Robin and Godwyn (Noah Jupe), but Michael Sarnoski is more interested in having the audience marinate in what could happen rather than experiencing any sort of physical altercation.

The thriller has a deliberate pace that is meant to appreciate what it means to end one’s life as well as how it affects those around you; even the people you’ve just met. Robin is the world’s most notorious outlaw in 1247, the year the film takes place, but he’s been in hiding so long that people have forgotten what he looks like. Robin has these almost intellectual conversations with both Sister Brigid and The Leper (Murray Bartlett), two individuals who are connected to him in ways he doesn’t fully realize. Once Robin heals in the film, his actions are very much those of someone getting their affairs in order before a planned departure.

One of the more intriguing concepts in the film is that it doesn’t feel like Robin Hood is committing suicide here. It’s a welcome death where someone assists him, but it’s executed as more of a release, not just from life but from his own legend. Robin develops a relationship with Margaret over the course of the film, and he has some final words for her that come across as a passing of the torch, but also as a mentor begging his protégé to be better than he ever was; in a just, moral way.

Robin Hood, as a character, has become habitual. He initially kills in the film as a form of self-defense, but he’s also quite good at it. His actions are not in the typical hero-or-villain sense, but those of a man who has simply survived and made a name for himself by doing despicable things for most of his life. Myths began to circulate regarding why he killed and why he stole money, but the lies intertwined with reality so much that it’s become difficult to distinguish what actually occurred and what didn’t.

The Death of Robin Hood is as savage and brutal as it is beautiful. It is truly one of the year’s most moving and powerful films. Its violence and Irish setting are reminiscent of The Northman, and calling the film the “Logan approach to Robin Hood” wouldn’t be an insult. While most films of this nature feature a titular character doing everything in their power to stay alive, The Death of Robin Hood sees a grizzled, barbaric desperado battling his way towards a triumphant end.

THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD SCORE

The Death of Robin Hood is now playing in theaters.