Bathurst went a different way with ‘Robin Hood’
Otto Bathurst (“Peaky Blinders”) had one question when the possibility arose for him to direct a feature film based on the story of Robin Hood. He wanted to know why anyone would want to make another production featuring the archer who robbed from the rich to give to the poor. There have been hundreds of TV, film and stage works about the tale.
Despite his initial anxieties, Bathurst moved forward with “Robin Hood.” Taron Egerton (“Kingsmen: The Secret Service”) stars as Robin alongside a cast that includes Jamie Foxx, Ben Mendelsohn, Eve Hewson and F. Murray Abraham.
“It became very, very clear that nobody on the team wanted to make a traditional Robin Hood film like we had seen before,” Bathurst says. “Once it became clear that we were going to be doing something radically different, then we got really excited about it.”
The Robin Hood story as told by Bathurst and his team starts with Robin, a veteran of the Crusades, returning to find his home and life in ruins. Instead of going into the woods with a bunch of merry men, Robin trains secretly while working his way into favor with the Sheriff of Nottingham (Mendelsohn).
Bathurst has replaced the familiar sword-andshield action with major stunts that range from a massive chase scene to using machinery that fires arrows like a machine gun. Even the look of the movie has ditched the tights and given all of the Nottingham big shots looks right out of a Paris fashion show.
The changes in approach give the story a contemporary feel.
“For me, the Robin Hood story exists because wherever you have corruption, wherever you have political parties or ruling parties, religion oppressing the people, wherever you have wars, you need a Robin Hood. You need people ready to stand up and be prepared to sacrifice themselves to make change. That’s why the story has lasted so long,” Bathurst says. “Now, when you look at the 21st century, we have more political corruption than ever and wars being fought all over the world. So we decided to take this myth and dump it into a 21st-century version that feels alive and visceral.”
One of the biggest keys to making the plan work was finding the right actors to play the hero and villain. The only person considered to play Robin was Egerton because Bathurst saw in him a great actor and movie star, plus he has everyman appeal.
Bathurst wants audience members to be able to relate to Robin to the point that they start thinking they could be him. He points out that most of the movies feature heroes who have abilities beyond mortal men, so there never is a chance for the audience to feel a deep connection.
“I want the story to inspire and wake people up, not just to numb them into wanting more of this rubbish,” Bathurst says.
In casting the counterpart to Robin, Bathurst didn’t want to have the Sheriff of Nottingham be a “mustache-twirling baddie,” but somebody who at the beginning feels like a smooth-talking charismatic politician. As the story unfolds, that’s when the dark core of the Sheriff begins to get revealed. He knew Mendelsohn had the acting skills to make all those elements work.
Bathurst knew the right casting of Robin and the Sheriff were vital, but the role he was most passionate about was Marian (Eve Hewson). He was determined to make his Marian strong and intelligent and a major trailblazer in the battle with the Sheriff.
All this means Bathurst has taken a huge gamble with his approach to a familiar story. But he wouldn’t have moved forward had he been expected to make another film that was the same as all the other tellings.
Nov. 24 birthdays: Singer Lee Michaels is 73. Actor Colin Hanks is 41. Actress Katherine Heigl is 40. Actress Sarah Hyland is 28.