Review: Outlaw King, a solid war film (in that war is terrible)
I really enjoyed Outlaw King for what it is, a beautiful, serious historical drama that aims to deliver a transportive medieval Scotland experience. Every shot is painterly, and so gorgeously lit, be it rich fire light outlining the silhouettes of new lovers, or defuse daylight cast softly over the somber, muddy troops. Against the gray skies rich jewel tones of mustard yellow, crimson and teal pop as fabric ripple furiously in the wind. This film is a sumptuous visual feast, too beautiful to look away even as languid drone shots of the lochs and moors are interjected with long cuts of stark, graphic violence.
I read some reviews that complain that Outlaw King is too focused on costumes and the brutality of medieval life and warfare, and does not give enough attention to making Robert the Bruce a more compelling hero, but I think it succeeds entirely in using the detailed world building to convey a timeless message: the horrors of war, but also, when people are pushed to their limits by oppression, even against impossible odds, they will rise up and fight.
Throughout the film, director David MacKenzie takes the time to show the busy lives of ordinary people as well as their inner lives in context, a servant teases her husband about sex, fisherwomen sings in harmony by the sea, a group of shriveled old men led by a teenage boy volunteer to fight. Without these moments, it’s easy for the larger story of human suffering to simply serve as backdrop for the main characters’ personal dramas, flavoring for court intrigue and political maneuvers. Even though the movie is called Outlaw King, played by Chris Pine with brooding gravitas, it also succeeds in telling a story about a people at their breaking point, faced with the choice to endure unending indignities or risk certain to fight for freedom. The Outlaw King makes the point that the rebellion is not just a game of thrones of the powerful, the people choose to fight.
There are several impressively staged battles in the film, most notably the midnight raid in the forest, an ambush on the riverbank, and of course the climatic Battle of Loudon Hill, but I think Hollywood has really perfected their depictions of violence. The images that will linger in my head are the apples crushed underfoot by warhorses, tracking shots of the ragtag guerrilla army marching in the moor, mourning women singing around a fire. Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s hammy Black Douglas felt like he was in the wrong movie as he mugged the camera, perhaps the one thing I will try to forget about the whole movie.
4/5 stars for beauty, and for doing familiar themes justice
