The Herald - The Herald Magazine
OUTLAW KING (18)***
Scottish history is taking centrestage on the big screen again with Outlaw King, David Mackenzie’s retelling of the story of King Robert the Bruce. Here two writers give their verdict on the Netflix movie mad-eyed Aaron Taylor-Johnson as James Douglas – or the Black Douglas as he will become known – desperate to seek revenge on the English monarch who ripped lands away from his family.
While you won’t find scenes of Robert taking inspiration from a web-spinning spider (although there are subtle nods to the determined arachnid here and there), the film isn’t afraid of more tender moments.
Notably between Robert and his second wife Elizabeth de Burgh (Lady Macbeth star Florence Pugh), who comes to appreciate her new husband’s sensitivities even on their wedding night.
Reuniting with Mackenzie, American-born Pine seems just as comfortable here as he did in the director’s Texas bank robbery yarn Hell or High Water. He digs into Robert’s humanity as much as his testosterone; one suspects that, had this movie been around in the run-up to the vote for Scottish independence, the outcome would have been markedly different.
On the English side, Billy Howle as Edward, Prince of Wales – the king’s son charged with tracking down Robert and his
Young British Artist McQueen is having, between this slick heist thriller and his previous dramas. His way with an arresting image is obvious in every scene here, his attention to detail remarkable. Even two women sitting in a diner is delivered with style and imagination. If he underplays elements of the story here and there it is nothing that cannot be fixed next time, or in the edit. Whether the Academy is ready for an all-female heist movie remains to be seen. They ought to be up for a nomination for Davis as best actress. She already has an Oscar for Fences (2016) and if she does not get at least a nod for Widows it will be a crime indeed.