• Director: Michael Sarnoski
• Screenplay: Michael Sarnoski
• Based on: ‘Robin Hood’s Death‘ by Anonymous
• Producer: Aaron Ryder, Andrew Swett, Alexander Black, Hugh Jackman
• Cast: Hugh Jackman, Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett, Noah Jupe
• Cinematography: Pat Scola
• Editing: Andrew Mondshein
• Score: Jim Ghedi
• Genre: Thriller
• Runtime: 122 minutes

The concept of Robin Hood being a benevolent do-gooder who pilfered from the rich to give to the less fortunate is all a folk tale. His pure love for Maid Marian also mythical. The real Robin is murderous, brutish and unrepentant. He admits he’s killed so many children he’s lost count.

He’s older now. Age hasn’t softened him. He looks haggard and weary from a lifetime spent killing. Though Hugh Jackman’s try at a northern accent needs work, he’s a suitable choice for Robin. You can see the decades of bloodshed in his eyes.

The opening chapter is unflinching in its brutality and bleakness. Robin and Little John (Bill Skarsgård)’s sanguinary exploits come to a halt when Robin is injured by a clansman in a savage skirmish. The violence gives way for something rather beautiful to flourish. Little John takes the incapacitated Robin to the Priory of St. Clement on a remote island; the carnage of the latter’s past separated by the sea.

Sister Brigid (the sterling Jodie Comer) allows Robin a place for recuperation. A safe haven. Nobody knows him here. No one is baying for his blood in retaliation. The sun shines the morning of Robin’s first full day at the priory as if he has found the promised land. The mainland is still visible but far in the distance. At this point, the pacing slows down like the film has begun a new life itself. It’s gentle, serene and meditative. The scenes in the orchard are stunning, the daffodils symbolising a rebirth.

The perfect balance between moods is struck, both bloody and blissful. Robin’s arc, culminating in the ownership of his misdeeds and an acceptance of his death, is poignant. Michael Sarnoski’s direction and writing hits the bull’s-eye.

My rating: 8 / 10