By Charlie Denison
When I was a little kid, one of my favorite films was Disney’s 1973 all-animal animated “Robin Hood.” The sly fox did so much to keep hope alive, taking from the rich to give to the poor. One of the scenes that always warmed my heart was when Robin posed as a blind beggar and surprised a little rabbit on his seventh birthday, giving him a bow and arrow—and a promise for a better tomorrow. He lifted the family’s spirits, dropping in just as the soulless rat-faced Sheriff of Nottingham was walking out, having stolen the child’s present.
“Some day there will be happiness again in Nottingham,” Robin told the rabbit’s mother. “You’ll see.”
The story of Robin Hood comes from the 13th century, and sadly, it’s one that remains relevant today. Socioeconomic disparity continues to worsen, leaving many feeling hopeless. People are working 2-3 jobs just to stay afloat. The young are going into deep debt just to get a degree.
Abraham Lincoln once said: “Every poor man should be given his chance.” But chances seem like such a luxury, and are sorely lacking.
However, there is still hope.
Here are some films—new and old—where unexacting outlaws rise up against the oppression, just like the sly fox Robin Hood.
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
This Depression-era epic stars Errol Flynn as a winsome Robin of Locksley and Claude Rains as a playful-yet-spiteful Prince John. For being filmed before the start of World War II, it holds up well. The performances certainly factor into this, but largely what makes this film continue to stand out is the enduring timeliness of the tale.
Robin Hood’s message of courage and perseverance arrived at the perfect time for a downtrodden America. Now the nation is again in a dark, uncertain place. Sadly, many struggle to make ends meet, no matter how hard they try. People are stressed and overworked, just as they were then.
“It’s injustice I hate,” he told Lady Marian (Olivia de Havilland). Robin Hood serves as a reminder people cannot allow the greed of others—be it from individuals or entities—to destroy them.
Robin couldn’t stand to see his fellow countrymen suffer, so he took it upon himself to “despoil the rich only to give to the poor; to shelter the old and the helpless, to protect all women, rich or poor” and fight against the oppressors. Now is a great time to marvel at the mystifying character’s first big screen appearance.
Hell or High Water (2016)
Written by Taylor Sheridan (“Sicario”), “Hell or High Water” brings the Robin Hood theme into the modern American frontier; or, more specifically, the small towns of the West Texas plains.
This timely modern Western stars Chris Pine (“Star Trek”) and Ben Foster (“Leave No Trace”) as brothers Toby and Tanner Howard. Their mother just passed away of colon cancer. They had to remortgage the family ranch to pay for medical bills.
There is no sympathy from the bank. Instead, the bank is a day away from foreclosing.
Desperately wanting to end this cycle of poverty and provide a better life for his sons (with whom he’s been estranged from after being unable to pay alimony), Toby talks his ex-con brother into a bank-robbing crime spree.
“I’ve been poor my whole life, so were my parents, their parents before them,” Toby says. “It’s like a disease passing from generation to generation… becomes a sickness. That’s what it is. Infects every person you know. But not my boys. Not anymore. This is theirs now.”
Although they are outlaws, you can’t help but root for these men who never can seem to get ahead. The banks loaned them “just enough to keep their mama poor on a guaranteed return,” attorney Billy Rayburn (Kevin Rankin) tells them. “They thought they could swipe her land for $25,000. That’s just so arrogant it makes my teeth hurt,” he says. “To see you boys pay those guys back with their own money? Well, if that ain’t Texan, I don’t know what is.”
Directed by Englishman David Mackenzie (“Starred Up”) and co-starring Western icon Jeff Bridges (“Thunderbolt and Lightfoot,” “True Grit”) as the Ranger on their tail (with his partner Gil Birmingham by his side, a unique pairing of brothers by vocation), “Hell or High Water” is a gray, thrilling ride about the mistrust and betrayal of big institutions and how two men try to do wrong to do right.
Will the ends justify the means?
Fun With Dick and Jane (2005)
This remake of the 1977 comedy (which starred George Segal and Jane Fonda) has never been more timely. Set at the height of the 2000 Presidential Election, Dick (Jim Carrey) loses his job when the Globodyne media corporation has an Enron-esque collapse. To make matters worse, this happens shortly after he’s promoted Vice President of Communications and his wife Jane (Tea Leoni) just quit her job, a decision that he encouraged, considering his substantial expected pay raise. The middle class family soon find themselves desperate to keep up.
In an act of impulsive wackiness, they decide to go on a crime spree to pay the bills.
What makes this goofy remake extra prescient is that Dick’s corrupt, narcissistic boss Jack McCallister is played by Alec Baldwin. Who knew 15 years after they filmed this they’d be going head to head on Saturday Night Live as Joe Biden and Donald Trump. If you’re wanting a feel-good movie that has some parallels to current events, this one is hard to beat.
Going In Style (2017)
Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin try to pull off a bank heist after being denied their pensions in this remake of the 1979 George Burns classic. What’s not to love?
Harding is about to lose his house to the bank. He’s broke. So are his best friends Willie (Freeman) and Albert (Arkin). What are they going to do about it? After finding himself in the middle of a heist himself, Harding gets a wild hair and successfully talks his friends into robbing the bank that’s ripping them off.
Michael Caine articulates this in a way only he can: “These banks practically destroyed this country. They crushed a lot of people’s dreams. And nothing ever happened to them. We’re three old guys. We hit a bank, we get away with it, we retire with dignity.”
Again… what’s not to love?
Directed by “Garden State” creator Zach Braff (a pleasant surprise for me, as I was unaware going in and impressed when his name popped up at the end credits), this joy ride is a feel-good film, despite representing a struggle that so many retirees experience in the U.S. today.
Parasite (2019)
According to Boston Globe movie critic Ty Burr, Bong Joon-ho's “Parasite” visualizes the war between the haves and the have-nots with “more exuberance and ingenuity" than he’s ever seen. I may have to agree. And you don’t expect it. Not in the least.
If you go into this movie without any knowledge of what’s to come, you think it’s about a poor, innocent family trying to make ends meet. And it is, but this is no ordinary family, nor is it an ordinary film—which is why it won Best Picture of 2020. “Parasite” has a truly original premise, and Bong executes it brilliantly.
Bong illustrates South Korea’s socioeconomic disparity in a nightmarish way that goes much farther than the viewer imagines. You find yourself rooting for the Kim clan even though they’re the “bad guys.”
“Parasite” is post-Sopranos, post-Breaking Bad anti-hero horror with an updated, cold-blooded take on a Robin Hood-like rebellion. Not everyone has the luxury of a man in tights to do the dirty work, so they have to take it upon themselves. Sometimes you have to get creative. Trying to survive is an ugly business sometimes, and it usually doesn’t go as planned.
Charlie Denison is a freelance writer, musician, award-winning journalist, and 11-year DVD Netflix member who lives with his wife in Lewistown, Montana.
He's been featured in “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” “Montana Quarterly Magazine,” and other publications. Follow him on Twitter @charliebigsky.