King Robert I of Scotland (1306-1329) has won cinematic fame over the past three decades. It began with Mel Gibson’s 1995 hit Braveheart, in which he appeared as the on-again, off-again supporter of Scottish freedom-fighter William Wallace, whose name he invoked before the decisive 1314 battle at Bannockburn shown as an epilogue. The Bruce, which followed in 1996, was little seen, but David Mackenzie’s 2018 Outlaw King depicted the killing of his rival John Comyn in 1306 and claiming the Scottish crown, but it broke off with his victory over King Edward II at Loudon Hill in 1307.
Now Angus Macfadyen, who played Robert in Braveheart, offers a largely fictional tale of a later turning-point in the hero’s life. Robert the Bruce is a passion project for the actor: he not only stars but co-wrote the script and, as he reports in the audio commentary with director Richard Gray included as a bonus on this disc, labored for some thirteen years to get it made.
The narrative proper is set in 1313, though some earlier events, including the fight with Comyn (Jared Harris), are recounted as bedtime stories told by a peasant woman named Morag (Anna Hutchison) to her young son Scot (Gabriel Bateman) and her late brother’s two children (Talitha Bateman and Brandon Lessard).
It is structured as an “if at first, you don’t succeed” tale. Exhausted by years of fruitless effort, Robert disbands his remaining army and goes off by himself, though pursued by some disaffected followers who aim to expose him to the English for a bounty. He winds up in a cave near Morag’s cabin, where he watches a spider repeatedly trying to spin a web, suffering setback after setback until it finally succeeds.
He is then reinvigorated by Morag, becoming soldiers in his cause and protecting him against her noxious brother-in-law (Zach McGowan) until he is ready to resume the struggle that will culminate at Bannockburn alongside Scot. Though shot mostly in snowy Montana with only a few Scottish exterior shots inserted at the beginning and end, the film is nonetheless visually quite convincing, with atmospheric cinematography by John Garrett and an evocative score by Mel Elias.
But despite a few swordfights and small-scaled battles, it is primarily a rather lugubrious talkfest, punctuated by so many scenes of men on horseback plodding through snowdrifts shouting “Robert the Bruce!” that the repetition becomes laughable. In addition to the audio commentary, the disc includes a “making of” featurette. Given the heavy accents, though, it would also have benefitted from subtitles. While Macfadyen’s tenacity is admirable, his return to a cherished character proves a disappointment. Optional for history film collections.