If it weren't done as eloquently, I could see how one might come to that conclusion.
However, the fact that Marian took it upon herself to poison him, and herself, is what brings such poetic justice to the ending. First, she loved him more than anyone else loved him. That she would be willing to end his life in spite of her clear adulation of him speaks volumes to why it was the best outcome for him at the end of the day. Furthermore, if she were just taking his life and not her own, it might be disturbing but that she is willing to take both of their lives for what she felt was his sake, and his only, is what makes this such a beautiful and fitting end to Robin's life.
Marian is saying that in spite of what anyone else (including Robin) might believe, the best thing for Robin, and his legacy, is to move on to the afterlife. She knew that he would just be sad and miserable had he continued under the delusion that he was still some great warrior. It would have ultimately led to his undignified demise, either cut down in battle by someone less worthy or dying a useless old man. As an audience member, you have to believe that too, of course, to believe that it was a just ending, as I do. Once again, her taking her own life is what gives credence to this notion. And her most eloquent speech in professing her love for him did a great job IMO of binding everything together.
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Devho
15 years ago
This is interesting, if not bizarre, to me that so many people see it that way. It's a murder/suicide. Would Phil Hartman's murder be more palatable to people if his wife had decided that his best days were behind him and that he would never again be as funny as he was on SNL? As long as she gave Phil an eloquent soliloquy right before shooting them both, it's poetic and romantic, right? No, it's still psychotic.
Again, I have to stress... this shouldn't be Marian's decision. She took it upon herself to decide that Robin was better off flaming out in a blaze of glory than dying peacefully as an old(er) man. Do any of you actually want your own spouse or significant other making those kinds of decisions about your life and your future?
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Just_Opinions
15 years ago
You're missing a very critical point in your analysis and that is that Robin also realizes and acknowledges that this is the proper ending for himself, thereby absolving Marian of what you deem is a "psychotic" action on her part.
Let's also not forgot that this is a movie. That isn't a cop out but rather the realization that we allow for moral liberties in film and find art in unacceptable actions that we might otherwise deem to be monstrous in the real world. Michael Corleone killing everyone at the end of The Godfather makes him no more than a common thug if it were real life but that movie and ending and character is so much more than what we could label as just a "murderer" using your line of logic. We could literally go on endlessly with such examples.
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Devho
15 years ago
Yeah, I think we'll just have to agree to disagree. And you're right... these are just movies. But it's fun to discuss them, like we're doing here.
I still say that Marian doesn't get off the hook just because Robin eventually agrees with her. In fact, that didn't ring true to me at all. It was as if Robin allowed himself to be convinced of it, that he was blinded by his love for Marian, and perhaps it was his way of "absolving" her. But, it's clear that we see it differently and aren't going to convince each other otherwise. And that's fine. It does make for lively debate!
And not to hijack this thread into "Godfather" territory, but I actually do happen to think that Michael Corleone descends into monstrosity, particularly during the second movie. He becomes an unsympathetic, soulless husk. Once he becomes the Don he's actually a pretty darn unlikable guy. But this is part of his journey and arc, and by the third movie he seeks redemption and perhaps regains some of the viewer's sympathy. There are things Michael does in the first movie that I tend to give him a moral pass on, true. The killing of Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey. Sure. That's an easy rationalization. But even Vito knows better. He weeps when he learns of it because he knows that Michael has started down the path of damnation. And isn't that the whole point of that saga? Michael's fall and redemption? It doesn't mean anything if we give him a moral Get Out Of Jail Free card.
Wow, didn't mean to go off on that tangent. Sorry.
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tubularbelle2003
15 years ago
In one of the Robin Hood legends Robin is killed by the Abbess of Kirklees Priory because she hates him. He comes in wounded and she poisons him the way Marian does in this film. That part of the legend is incorporated very well I feel.
I love the film and cry buckets at the end.
The Long Walk stops every year, just once.
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