Nottingham - The Sheriff's version of events?

28 April 2007

Gerard Wood

In my review of the new BBC series Robin Hood, I make the observation that, with notable exceptions, there has been little originality in most studio and TV retellings of the legend of Robin Hood. Universal's upcoming (2009) release, Nottingham, looks likely to prove me wrong. But for all the wrong reasons. Admittedly there's little detail available yet and it's early days so maybe I'm being unfair and what has been leaked is simply sensation seeking publicity.

I hope so.

Written by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, and starring Russell Crowe as the Sheriff, the premise of Nottingham appears to be something like this: Robin is a not so virtuous thief and has been up to no good; the Sheriff is a pretty noble fellow and doing his best to maintain law and order; and, to top if off, there's a love triangle with Marian.

There have been less ignoble Sheriff's in the past, notably Robert Shaw's sympathetic portrayal in the classic 1976 movie Robin and Marian, but this new revision really is a Robin Hood for our times.

Call me cynical but this reeks of a Conservative agenda.

Robin Hood has an enduring appeal to popular consciousness quite simply because he is the people's hero, a rebel with a cause who stands up to fight against unjust authority. Nottingham is the version of "history" that the unjust authority would have us believe. This is a version that would seek to justify the policies and actions of governments who assure us that when they grant themselves increased powers and diminish our freedoms they do so out of a noble intent and for our good. And in this version of reality anyone who opposes their authority is by definition a criminal, a terrorist, and subject to the harshest response.

But hey, it's only a movie.

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