Read more about The Cate Blanchett Essentials
Robin Hood (2010) Ridley Scott
IMDB: 6.7 - RT: 43% / 59%
Why I selected this film as one of the Cate Blanchett Essentials
„A friend of mine told me she found this movie fantastic, and even though our tastes differ at times, I think I'm actually going to like this one. I mean, it's Robin Hood! With Cate!“
The story
Good question. It's something about Robin Hood, who pretends to be the returned husband of Marion (Cate) so that she can stay in her father-in-laws house after his death. He also "confronts corruption" in the village and somehow "alters the balance of the world power", according to IMDB. The story was hard to get.
The message
Surrender to anarchism!
The character
Marion is a typical Cate Blanchett character: "trapped" in a time when women didn't have many rights, she is loud and stubborn and knows what she wants. As she lost her husband to war one week after their marriage, there is also a vulnerable side to her which is longing for the love (from a man) she never got.
Otherwise she is very self-confident and likes to do things her own way.
Sadly, there's not much focus on her character so I can't think of much else to say about it.
The performance
This is closely connected with the character, so although Cate gives it a 100% and is convincing as always in her scenes, I had the feeling that she should have had more screen time. Russel Crowe is great too, no doubt, but I didn't find his Robin Hood a very interesting character.
Marion on the other hand, offered much potential and had many layers. Of course this must have been easy for Cate, these kind of roles are just her thing.
The most impressive scene
When Robin goes to his friends house to tell the news of his death, and tells Marion first without knowing that it was her husband. Cate's reaction is very realistic, she is trying to seem calm and strong, but the shock is hard to hide.
It's a very short scene, but I was very impressed.
The blemish
The film was long-drawn and the story wasn't very interesting. It was either so boring that I didn't pay enough attention to understand the story, or the story was so un-understandable that the film became boring.
Does the film deserve to be called one of the Cate Blanchett Essentials?
No, I don't think so. I'm sure she has been in films that are more deserving of this honour, so I'm a little disappointed I chose this one instead of many others.
FINAL FRAME
2
