The Death of Robin Hood

Forget the familiar tale of the heroic outlaw stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.

I saw The Death of Robin Hood at a preview screening at QFT last Friday, and it is a film I’ve found myself thinking about several times since. That, perhaps more than anything, says something about its impact.

Michael Sarnoski’s film finds an ageing Robin (Hugh Jackman) living with the consequences of a violent past. This Robin is weary, brutal and far removed from the romanticised folk hero, with the film more interested in guilt, mortality and redemption than another retelling of the legend.

Jackman gives a suitably weathered performance, while Jodie Comer brings real presence as Prioress Brigid. Bill Skarsgård appears as Little John.

It begins with mud, blood and some wince inducing violence before becoming something altogether more reflective. The pace slows considerably as Sarnoski turns an action story into a character study, and that shift will probably divide audiences. But there is something compelling about watching a film dismantle a character we think we already know.

And perhaps that is why it has stayed with me. Days after seeing it, I’m still thinking about its ideas around ageing, regret and what happens when the stories we tell about a life are very different from the reality.

For local audiences there is another reason to look closely. Much of the film was shot in Northern Ireland, with locations across Counties Antrim and Down providing the bleak landscape for this very different version of Robin Hood.

The Death of Robin Hood opens in cinemas on Friday 4 September.