ROBIN HOOD (2010) *** It feels very authentic, which is remarkable given the subject matter and slant. Russell Crowe is a better actor than a lot of people give him credit for (he's the toughest sumbitch in the whole damn movie, out of these hundreds of people you'd pick him second only to Kevin Durand to be on your team in a bar fight), and Cate Blanchett maintains a high level of performance perhaps calculated not to bury him. That all works well. It's all interesting enough, but more interesting, to me, is the dynamic behind the curtain. While history is somewhat vague on King Richard the Lion Hearted (who killed him? was he gay?) and Freemasons (are they good or bad? do they have a big secret?), it is positively opaque when it comes to Robin Hood (was there really one?). Of course Richard reigned in large part in the Holy Land during the Crusades, and over the Knights Templar (to or through whom many trace the history of Freemasonry). In fact Richard made several deals with the Knights, and on at least one occasion impersonated one. The Masons, for their part, are said to keep their own unique historical record, which is if not contradictory to what we learn in school has at least a different focus, and emphasis, and marginalia. So, quite frankly, who's in a better position to know more about Robin Hood? The Masonic thread that runs through the film is apparent enough for the unobservant and uninitiated (e.g., me) to pick up on, but I have no sensible ideas on its breadth, accuracy and/or whether it's more a metaphorical thing, like Parcival. So enjoy the movie without thinking on such things and be satisfied, or wonder about them at will and length…without resolution, because I think these things always end up pointing to open matters anyway.
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