The Last of Robin Hood

source: The Last of Robin Hood

Seeing Dakota fanning humped by an old man was erotically charged

the last of Robin Hood. It's a heartfelt look back at the dying days of the Golden age of Hollywood. And of Hollywood's greatest swashbuckler and legendary hellraiser Errol Flynn. but its more then that. It's a tender love story about Errol Flynn and his last great love Beverly Aadland . Flynn met Beverly in the summer of 1957 he was a faded movie star she was a 15 year old would be actress. Sparks flew between them and that led to a serious relationship that was problematic at best illegal at worse. And Flynn wily old Flynn countered it by befriending Beverly's mother Florence. She becomes so smitten with Flynn and with the Hollywood scene she lets Flynn do anything he wants to with her daughter. The Tragic end that Errol Flynn suffered didn't end any of the messes he made . In fact he complicated Beverly's life worse in death then he did in life. In life towards the End Errol Flynn struggled to make Beverly a Movie star making the Cuban Rebel Girls a film so bad it will go down in immortality as Errol Flynn's last movie. But Kevin Kline portrays Errol Flynn with Flynn's trade marked devil may care attitude He flows with confidence and he is damn near Perfect as Errol Flynn ! Dakota Fanning does a remarkable job as Beverly Aadland and there is real chemistry between the two leads. Susan Sarandon steals the movie as Beverly's mom Florence. A well done movie about a sad time in Hollywood. When Robin Hood grew sick and old. and Captain Blood died penniless. But loved and he died still admired by his legions of fans. and most importantly. He died in the arms of the woman he loved. not even Hollywood could dream of a ending that wonderful for a man who was a legendary bad boy. Errol Flynn knew he was dying. and as he said in My wicked Wicked ways he had no regrets. he did it his way. And in the end he died happy. A movie that should have won Oscars Galore and had a longer run in theaters. But it didn't and somehow that's fitting, And Somewhere Errol Flynn is raising a glass every time someone sees this movie and smiles and laughs. and says. "Did you really think they could get rid of Robin Hood that easy I'm still here old Chum"! And we are grateful for this movie in reminding us that Errol Flynn was a legend every bit as a legend as say Robin Hood. And Legends don't die. They just get bigger.

The title of this movie derives from the fact that so many of us associate Errol Flynn, the actor, with his swashbuckling role in "Robin Hood." In fact I have the restored DVD of that movie and I've never taken the time to see it all the way through. Now I need to do that! Kevin Kline has always been one of my favorite actors and here he is very appropriate as Errol Flynn, and especially considering the physical resemblance. This is not a biography of the actor, in fact it covers only the last two years of his life, 1957 through 1959. I never knew this about the man but he had a long history of affairs with underage girls, and was even prosecuted for statutory rape. In his later life represented by this movie he didn't seem to have any guilt about it and assumed those around him knew what was going on. His last "love" was 15 when they met, Dakota Fanning in a very appropriate role as Beverly Aadland, with ambitions as a singer, dancer, and actress. Flynn met her quite by accident and he was immediately smitten. He invited her out "to discuss her career" but ended up seducing her, much to her surprise. In time it seems she actually learned to love this guy who was 33 years older than she. Enter the mother, Susan Sarandon in a good performance as Florence Aadland. She was quite stricken with the idea that Flynn would befriend her little girl and help her career, and only when the three traveled to New York together, and she learned that Flynn and her daughter would be sharing a hotel room, and bed, did she realize what was going on. Flynn was not healthy and at one point he mentions that 10 years earlier a doctor told him that with his lifestyle he had maybe 6 months left to live, so he made the best of it and he is still around. But in 1959, at the age of 50, he died of a heart attack in Canada where he had gone to sell his yacht, he needed money. While they were shooting a movie out of the country Flynn dictated a revision to his will, to give Beverly 1/3 of his estate, but it was never signed and witnessed so it was invalid. Beverly went on to a quiet life and her mother was convicted and jailed for a time for child neglect. Good movie to illuminate part of the life history of Errol Flynn. DVD from my public library.

...a great screenplay and cast's efforts were shredded by Susan Sarandon's pathetic portrayal of Beverly's mother. Sarandon just "phoned" this one in and simply recited the lines. Kevin Kline, on the other hand, was marvelous. He recreated the "In Like Flynn" image to a tee. Too bad.

Kevin Kline is perfect as Errol Flynn, so much so that I cannot imagine anyone else doing this better. Not only does he look like Flynn, but he captures his charm and almost childlike attitude to life. OK he was an alcoholic who probably wasted his life and died too early, but those who knew him always say he was a charmer who could light up the room. Mr Kline carries this perfectly. Much has been made of his attraction to younger women but what so many fail to realise is how common this was back then, and not just in Hollywood. Chaplin to Elvis it was just how things were. Not excusing it in anyway but we cannot re-write history because we find it distasteful. Many of those chorus girls we see in those old musicals were very young girls and sadly it is the case that most married or had relationships with much older men. Flynn was one of those men but he was not alone by any means. Back to the movie. Susan Sarandon did a great job as the manipulating mother who wanted fame and fortune for her child regardless of the cost to her emotionally. Dakota Fanning plays her part brilliantly and seems to have captured this young girl who knew what she wanted even though she also knew how wrong it all was. It does seem she genuinely loved Flynn and him her, but it is hard to know the real truth of their relationship. I think it is a shame that we didn't see more of Flynn the movie star, but I guess the time line for this film means he was past his best by then? If you like old Hollywood stars or just like good biopics then you should enjoy this movie.

Kevin Kline and Susan Sarandon give fine performances in this movie, as they so often have done. That doesn't make this movie better, however. The script has lots of holes, unfortunately. The clearest, best-developed character is the mother, a sad version of Mama Rose from Gypsy. She had dreamed of being a dancer, but when that was denied her by an accident, she undertook to raise her daughter to be in show business, and thus to live through her. That explains most of her actions in the movie. Flynn's character is less well-developed. Why his fascination with this particular young girl? Why does he become involved with heroin? Kline makes him a fascinating, charismatic character, as Flynn evidently was in life even to the end, but the script never lets us really see behind the charming facade. The daughter, Beverly, remains the most enigmatic. Does she really want a career in show business? What does she see in Flynn? She is the last person we see in the movie, but we never really see inside her. Once Flynn dies, the other two characters aren't interesting enough to hold our attention for the last 15-20 minutes of the movie. It's worth watching once for Kline as Flynn, but I wouldn't watch it again. --------------------------- After seeing this movie I happened to catch *My Favorite Year* on TCM. It's an infinitely better movie, because it approaches Erol Flynn in his last years in a different way. Rather than attempting to be a docudrama, *My Favorite Year* is a fantasy on how Flynn might have been in his last years. The script is not shackled to history. Rather, it is free to soar. And soar it does. Peter O'Toole creates a bigger-than-life Flynn, not tied down by any effort to be faithful to reality. Nor does he try to imitate Flynn. Rather, he creates a character who faces the issue that *The Last of Robin Hood* never really confronts: the conflict Flynn must have felt between the image of him that the studio created, largely through his adventure films, and the real Erol Flynn. The whole movie is wonderful, but the greatest moment comes at the end, during the crazy live TV show, when O'Toole's character gets caught up in his own legend and becomes the swash-buckler he had played so many times on screen. It's magic, a magic we never see, alas, in *The Last of Robin Hood.* If you're a fan of Kevin Kline, a great actor, see *The Last of Robin Hood* once to see his fine performance as Flynn. But if you're a fan of Erol Flynn, pass on *The Last of Robin Hood* and see *My Favorite Year.* You will love it.

Not worst than any other biographical motion picture produced by commercial American cinema, and certainly not up to the highest achievements in biographical movies made by this industry. But it is done not only with affection but with respect, even to that "moral majority" that causes so much despair and sadness all over the world, with its stern point of view that changes whenever the wind blows. And above it all the film is graced with very good performances by Kevin Kline as Errol Flynn, Dakota Fanning as Beverly Aadland and especially Susan Sarandon, splendidly restrained as Florence Aadland, a role that Shelley Winters would have turned into a thunderous bitch. I liked it and enjoyed it very much maybe because I like every now and then a bit of television, or maybe because I have always liked Errol Flynn, an actor that was so incredulous of his own talent, when as a matter of fact he was a wonderful performer of action and gallantry expressions.

Anthony Hopkins and Toby Jones did amazing work as Alfred Hitchcock; Meryl Streep was incredible as Margaret Thatcher while Helen Mirren was gobsmacking as the Queen, but Kevin Kline's portrayal of the aging Errol Flynn is positively eerie. He looks like him, he speaks like him and he has caught the mannerisms. Kline was 15 years older than Flynn, but Errol's hard-living evened things up; its almost as though he has crossed back from the other side. To modern generations, Errol Flynn, if they have heard of him at all, would have to be of passing interest at best, and this movie about his last love affair with Beverly Aadland must seem an odd little movie. Dakota Fanning may even be of more interest. Possibly they would also be put off by the age difference between Errol and Beverly - he was pushing 50 and she was 15. However for those of us who were alive when Flynn was still making films, and were interested enough to read any of the books about the guy, this movie is close to fascinating. With some knowledge of his life, you have to appreciate all the little touches seeded throughout the film. One was the way the relationship with Beverly starts with Flynn trying his well-practiced technique of seducing women by discussing with a co-conspirator in front of them how perfect they would be for a part in an upcoming production. However, after taking advantage of her in a somewhat disturbing scene, his feelings for her go beyond a quick conquest and they become involved in an oddly-matched and dangerous relationship. Much of the movie is told from the viewpoint of Beverly's mother, Florence, played by Susan Sarandon, who comes across as the stage mother from hell. Rather than being overshadowed by Kline, it's Dakota Fanning's movie too. She underplays while projecting naïveté on the one hand, and worldliness beyond her years on the other. The last part of the movie shows the effect her unwanted celebrity has on her stability, while Florence actually revels in it. The film has been criticised, scathingly by some reviewers, not only for skimpy production values, but also for sanitising the relationship, and for not taking more of a moral stance over the underage aspect. However, I do feel we are made aware of the situation throughout the film, and it doesn't ever really get a seal of approval. Nevertheless, according to Roland Fisher, Beverly Aadland's husband of 40 years, she admitted to loving Errol Flynn until the day she died (in 2010). Knowing a fair bit about the subject probably has a lot to do with whether or not you will appreciate this film - I for one found it totally absorbing.

After reading the poor reviews of this film I was expecting very little, but ended up surprised that it was better than I expected. I would say that this was mainly due to the superb acting of the 3 stars here, Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon, and Dakota Fanning. I also had to take my own personal "moral police meter" and put it aside , to review the movie on its merits and not my moral judgments, something perhaps some viewers will not want to do. Set in the latter years of the 1950's, the tale focuses on the 2 year relationship between the world famous actor Errol Flynn and the 15 year old Beverly Aadland. Kline is excellent as Flynn, known for his lecherous and playboy ways, and who spots the chorus girl and aspiring actress Aadland on a movie set and immediately takes steps to seduce her. However, Beverly, also superbly portrayed by Fanning, does not appear to be your typical teen looking to bask in the fame and fortune of Flynn. She actually appears to like him and his company, I guess you could say as much as a 15 year old is able to. Then there's Florence, Beverly's mother, and Sarandon just "nails it" here with her portrayal of the super ambitious "stage mother", who even has groomed her daughter to look and act older than her years ( having a fake birth certificate handy showing she's 18 years old). Florence seems to be pushing Beverly to succeed because her own career as a dancer was cut short when she lost a leg in an auto accident, and now wears a prosthetic device. Thus the remainder of the film will focus on the enmeshed lives of the three personalities, and how they will try and hide what's going on from the public and the media. However, there will come a time after the death of Flynn, in 1959, when most serious repercussions will have to be faced. I read that the filmmakers Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland (Still Alice) tried to focus on the story rather than the morality of it all, and, as mentioned, that's what I tried to do as well. The movie itself I thought was quite absorbing, led by the strong acting of the three leads plus the fine supporting cast, and was enhanced by actual photos, at the end, of the real characters portrayed and some of what happened to them in future years.