The Last of Robin Hood

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.

"In like Flynn," a colloquial expression based on the dissolute life of Errol Flynn.

Because Kevin Kline looks like an aging Errol Flynn (he died at 50), it's easy to believe Kline's depiction of the swashbuckling roué from early 20th Century American film in The Last of Robin Hood. Yet, if you want really to experience the bad boy who gave Robin life, read his autobiography, My Wicked, Wicked Ways. Sadly this film is a dull, soporific take on the last years of Flynn.

Not that Kevin Kline doesn't have the ability to be roguish like Flynn, it's just that he appears to have been directed to underplay the famous rake, a letdown for those of us hoping to experience the wild wicked one. Instead, this Flynn is pursuing a much younger woman, Beverly Aadland (Dakota Fanning), with a feeling of entitlement and an ennui-subtle sense of "been there."

More interesting than the moribund Flynn is Beverly's mom, Florence (Susan Sarandon) -- a stage mom if there ever was one. Her machinations to get her daughter into films are almost unbelievable. When she realizes her underage daughter is sleeping with Flynn, the other side of her ambition, the love of a mother, rings true as a contrast. However, she allows the affair. To their credit, Fanning and Kline seem to care about each other to the extent that any moral outrage about statutory rape is slightly mitigated.

Although the script doesn't allow for the dramatic energy that should accompany his shenanigans, brightening the dim movie is Sarandon's ambitious mom with dorky glasses and fat—she steals whatever show there is to take.

So if you want to witness the quiet decline of a glamorous pedophile, the coda to Flynn's checkered life is gently carried out by Kevin Kline as if in hospice. It's the last of an outrageous actor. R.I.P.

Errol Flynn, a "Larger than Life" Movie Star who Shined as Brightly as His On Screen Persona would let Him. An Adventurous and Handsome Man with Agile Abilities and a Killer Smile Who Could and Would Woo Audiences and Young Girls with Equal Ease.

His Self-Destructive Lifestyle is Legendary. In this Movie, Kevin Kline States..."I was told by a Doctor that if I didn't stop drinking and doing drugs I would be dead in six months...that was ten years ago and I have lived every day and night since, as if it would be my last."

He certainly Did. Considered a Rogue, a Womanizer, and Immature (all true), Flynn was a Likable and Fun Guy to be Around by most Accounts.

It seems that Beverly Aadland (Dakota Fanning) was Smitten and this is Their Story. The Last Two Years of Flynn's Life, totally Dedicated to Beverly, are Seen here as a Romantic Tale of Two People that are Devoted.

Sure, the Age Difference is Extreme and She is Under Age (15 but posses a birth certificate stating she's 18, acquired by her career controlling Mom played by Susan Sarandon). In the Movie Their Illicit Behavior is Shown as Respectful and Not Salacious.

It's a Little Movie about a Big Star and a Chorus Girl, Not an Unfamiliar Situation, and the Film Plays it perfectly Straight and Not Explosive.

The Good Cast is Better than the Soft-Peddled Script and Everything is Underwritten, Underplayed, and Undeserving of "My Wicked Wicked Ways" Author and Beverly Aadland.

Not an Awful Account of what happened, but perhaps Not as Good as it Might Have Been. Fiction is Stranger than Truth. After Viewing this You Might Not Think that Their Relationship was that Strange after all.

I am a big fan of the Golden age of Hollywood and Errol Flynn will always hold a soft spot in my heart. This tells the story of how the aging and ill Flynn met his last wife. She was a mere 15 years old – one Beverley Aadland (Dakota Fanning). This was a spirited girl who was being driven to be an actress by her alcoholic mothers own ambitions. This is Florence Aadland played brilliantly by Susan Sarandon.

From what I know of this part of Flynn's life the film is fairly faithful to the facts. Kevin Kline as the ageing Lothario is actually excellent – he plays the part with enough of the rogue to be believable but with the right level of empathy to make the man live. They also recreate some of the last filmatic roles and that part of the film is very enjoyable.

The problem is it does not go anywhere too exciting in the 94 minute run time and so has been criticised for that. That said I really enjoyed it. I think you will get a lot more out of this if you are interested in Flynn and enjoy a good performance or two and this certainly has that.

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.