Cate Blanchett & Feminism in Robin Hood

[Spoilers below]
I watched Robin Hood this past weekend with the boo and I LOVED it! Man oh man, the story of Robin Hood just hits me right in the core! I mean, Guru’s Robbin Hood Theory is one of my favorite songs of all time! Best lyrics ever:

Now that we’re gettin somewhere, you know we got to give back
For the youth is the future no doubt that’s right and exact
Squeeze the juice out, of all the suckers with power
And pour some back out, so as to water the flowers
This world is ours, that’s why the demons are leary
It’s our inheritance; this is my robbin hood theory
Robbin hood theory

That’s wassup! Lovin’ that double symbolism. Foreal though, seeing the story of Robin Hood again made me proud of western civilization. Say whaaaaaaaaaat!? I know I know. For a staunch anti-imperialist, fierce opponent of colonialism and unyielding critic of the western model of liberal democracy, this comes as a surprise. But that scene where mah man Russell comes in and is like “YO! I’ma speak!!!” when all the kings are givin’ their 2 cents about the French invasion and British civil war, I got chiiiiiiiiills. Taking “man” to mean “human,” hearing them talk about empower each man and you will build a kingdom of trust and loyalty (“In tyranny lies only failure. Empower every man and you will gain strength”) and that every man is king of his castle was pretty awesome, to say the least. This was truly revolutionary in a world where the king was seen as a divine ruler, free to kill, slaughter and maim as he so chose. This was a much greater step towards protecting liberty and human rights. It was such a moving speech I was honestly about to jump up in my seat, fist in the air and scream “YEAH!!!” So whoever wrote that speech… kudos.
Anyhoo, on to the title of this post. Cate Blanchett. I am really startin’ to love me some Cate Blanchett. She seems to gravitate towards all these fierce, badass feminist roles and I ain’t mad. She played Queen Elizabeth I, this bad mama psychic in The Gift and most recently in Robin Hood. (For a long time though I could not tell the difference between her and Tilda Swinton real talk! So confusing.) She completely held it down at Nottingham for the ten years her husband was away at war, fighting against sexist and corrupt ass sheriffs and friars the whole time. I especially loved this quote she gave the night Robin Hood sleeps in her bed chamber for the first time: “I sleep with a dagger. If you ever move as to touch me, I will sever your manhood.” LOL! Served! The clear and final marking of Cate’s role in Robin Hood as feminist came when she marched into battle at the very end.

But the ending. Oh the ending. The movie was SOOOOO close to bein’ damned revolutionary!!! So close! Cate glances at the arch-villain and makes her move. After he kills a heartwarming character (the 80+ year old Walter) in a scene that absolutely breaks your heart, Cate decides it’s her turn to deal him his fate. I’m thinkin’ FUCK YEAH! The love interest of Robin Hood is actually going to be the hero of this movie!!! This may actually turn out to be my favorite feminist movie of all time!
But alas. She fails at killing him and ultimately makes herself a nuisance as Robin Hood is forced to risk his life, abandon his fighting and save the damsel in distress. He ultimately kills the villain. All is right in Hollywood by the end of the movie. Sigh.
So once again I didn’t get my happy ending. BUT I am hoping there will be a sequel and that the directors choose to go into depth with the role of King John’s wife, Isabella of Angoulême. It was very interesting to witness the growing strength of this character as she speaks up against King John’s imbecility, particularly in the end when he betrays his oath to the Magna Carta. I’m seeing some mad potential for complexity there and the more complex female roles, the better the movie, IMO. (Robin Hood folks, if you’re reading this, take note!)
In ending, while it wasn’t a feminist fantasy, it was wildly entertaining, provided historical perspective for history buffs and definitely slanted in the direction of feminist subjectivity. I’m lovin’ it so much, I’m about to tattoo the engraving on Robin Hood’s sword! Peep this: “Rise and rise again until lambs become lions.” Call to revolution much?
Chills.