There are lots of great performers from around the world that star in movies.  You would think that if a director wanted to make a historically based film, somebody of the country in question’s stock could be obtained.  This is something that occurred to me while watching Outlaw King (2018), which tells the story of how Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine) became King of Scots.  Note that they cast an American for one of the most popular figures in Scottish history.  This is made all the more puzzling when you consider that it is directed by David Mackenzie, a Scotsman.  Given the material involved, the comparisons between it and Braveheart (1995) are almost too tantalizing to ignore.  Though I have no evidence of this, I suspect that with Outlaw King, Mackenzie wanted to make a more Scottish version of those events.  The result is, well . . . at least nobody is wearing kilts in this one?  Read on for the rest of the story.

Actually, Outlaw King is the rest of the story from Braveheart.  Robert the Bruce is not yet an Outlaw King by 1304, but with William Wallace (not pictured) captured, Robert and the rest of the Scottish nobles have come south to Stirling castle to swear their fealty to the English monarch, Edward I (Stephen Dillane).  In return for loyalty and taxes, Edward has pledged to return Scottish lands.  As a way of strengthening the bonds between the two lands, he gives the daughter of a close ally, Elizabeth de Burgh (Florence Pugh), to Robert in marriage.  With peace settled for now, Robert returns north to await his bride.  They are strangers to one another, hence after the post-matrimony revelry, Robert bids Elizabeth goodnight without consummating their union.  Though things appear settled, Robert’s father, also Robert the Bruce (James Cosmo), before dying, begins to wonder if they have done right in agreeing to end their rebellion.  Not long after his passing, his son leads a group of people to turn in to the English the money they have raised from their estates.  While there, a crowd of people is stirred into a frenzy when one of the pieces of Wallace’s body is displayed in the center of town.  By the way, this is part of what happens when someone is “drawn and quartered.”  Witnessing the popular anger over the death of a folk hero, along with his father’s last words, Robert decides the time is now to renew the uprising.  It is not a matter to be taken lightly when they all swore by God with their hands on a Bible that they would stay true to the English throne.  While they discuss their treason, Robert is worried that Elizabeth’s feelings may be divided, so he sends her out of the room.  She overhears their discussion anyway, and later says that her place is with her husband no matter what he decides.  From here, it is a matter of drawing more men to his cause.  A primary hurdle to recruitment is John III Comyn (Callan Mulvey), whose claim to the Scottish crown is just as strong as Robert.  They agree to meet in a church to discuss joining forces, but when John threatens to reveal Robert’s plot, the latter murders the former.  Killing on Holy Ground comes with consequences as it should, even to Robert, not the least of which is making things harder for Robert to increase his ranks.  He is excommunicated from the Catholic Church, which is sensible, though he makes a sincere Confession and is given absolution.  That, too, should not be surprising.  God does forgive the contrite heart.  The person who is less inclined to let bygones be bygones is Edward.  Empowering his son, Edward Prince of Wales (Billy Howle), to invade Scotland and give no quarter, the English Army once again marches north.  Robert brings his queen and daughter, Marjorie (Josie O’Brien), with him on campaign.  In an attempt to bring a swift end to the hostilities, Robert challenges the English leader, Aymer de Valence (Sam Spruell), to individual combat.  Despite agreeing to the arrangement, Aymer leads a nighttime surprise attack on the Scottish encampment, just after Elizabeth and Robert are intimate for the first time no less.  The Scots are routed and Robert is forced to send Elizabeth and Marjorie to a friendly castle for their protection.  Unfortunately, the Prince of Wales’ forces find Elizabeth and Marjorie there and capture them, killing one of Robert’s brothers in the process.  Now on the run, Robert travels to Ireland where he has lands and can muster more troops.  Until he is strong enough, he fights a guerilla war against the English.  Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales attempts to force Elizabeth to renounce her marriage, saying that her husband will soon be dead.  The fact that the Prince of Wales says this proves to her that Robert yet lives, giving her the courage to not sign the paper of annulment.  As for Robert, eventually he switches to trying to goad the English into a larger confrontation.  This brings Edward north, but he dies on the way making the Prince of Wales Edward II, king of England.  Though Robert has fewer men, he gives battle to the English at Loudon Hill.  Luring the enemy into a carefully laid trap, the Scottish foot soldiers induce the English cavalry to charge into a row of wooden spikes they have hidden on the battlefield.  Eventually, Aymer calls for a retreat, but not before Edward II and Robert come face-to-face.  The new English ruler is humiliated and sent back to his own lines, and Robert’s position as king of Scots is secured.  We end with Elizabeth being reunited with her husband.

It does not feel like it in Outlaw King, but eight years elapse between when Elizabeth is imprisoned and her release.  It is one of a few historical inaccuracies in the movie, though I cannot say it is as bad as Braveheart.  An aspect of this muddiness with past events in Outlaw King has to do with the aforementioned excommunication.  It may seem strange to criticize a protagonist, but when Robert commits the heinous act of murder inside a church, I was prepared to write off him and the entire movie.  What redeems it somewhat is that he appears to be truly sorry for the crime.  As such, though he can be rightly judged for the deed, he also deserves praise for contriteness.  Of course, this is an embellishment of history.  While the deadly meeting between John and Robert happened, the real Robert did what he did not as reluctantly.  He was ambitious and John was an obstacle to his goal.  At the same time, gaining absolution for his sins was a political tool.  In the medieval world, Papal approval for anything meant a great deal, to individuals and countries.  As an aside, William the Conqueror went into battle with the Papal flag on his side, which was a psychological advantage for him at Hastings in 1066.  At the same time, none of this justifies the killing and violence that is seen in the movie.  Far too often, God has been used as an excuse for taking the life of another, as if Divine intervention struck in that instant and tells that person to take up arms against a fellow child of God.  Yet, because Hollywood usually depicts Christians as a bunch of religious fanatics, it is the Prince of Wales who uses the excuse of Robert’s sin to carry out atrocities against the Scots.  There does seem to be an added layer of offensiveness when you take the life of another in a church, an idea that is nearly as old as Western culture itself.  At the same time, God sees raping and pillaging outside church walls just as well as He does inside.  Then again, because every story needs an antagonist, I suppose having Edward II behave in this manner makes sense for the plot.  It may not line up with history, but movies need bad guys.

Edward II’s behavior is not the only bad part of Outlaw King.  When I read the short description for the movie on Netflix, it says it is Braveheart meets Game of Thrones (2011-2019).  This worried me because I gave up on the popular Home Box Office (HBO) series after one episode because of the copious amounts of nudity.  I began to wonder if the blurb I saw was accurate until the unnecessarily graphic sex scene.  Between that, the historical inaccuracies, and the blood and gore, this one is a pass.