‘The Uprising’ movie review: Andrew Garfield and Jamie Bell shine in thrilling retelling of the Peasants’ Revolt

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Written and directed by Paul Greengrass, this retelling of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 is gripping till the strange epilogue, which shoehorns Robin Hood into the story. Till then, the film moves quickly, echoing present-day concerns of inequality and the wasteful lives of the rich.

Greengrass’s trademark style of handheld camera work and sweeping drone shots drags and keeps you in the mud, grime and betrayals as the story unfolds.

The Black Death that wiped out 50% of the population has caused the coffers to run dry. King Richard II (Woody Norman) is only 14 years old and tormented by nightmares of being set upon by hoards of screaming demons.

The council, ruling in the king’s name, realises the church and merchants cannot be taxed (“they will demand a seat at the table”) and decide to increase taxes on the already burdened peasants.

A farmer, Ploughman (Andrew Garfield) who lost his wife and two children to the plague, attacks and kills a soldier, when he is asked to pay a death tax for his family as there is no record of him having already paid it.

This proves the spark that sets the fires of revolt ablaze. John Ball (Jamie Bell), a priest condemned by the church for his progressive views, and Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis), a soldier who served under the king’s father, lead the rebellion.

The battles are tightly staged, giving the viewer a sense of urgency and desperation of these men and women fighting for their lives and beliefs. The toll of the battle in terms of lives lost is there for all to see in the pile of bodies on the field, including the poor horse.

The unremittingly dun-coloured vistas present us with a very different England from William Blake’s “green and pleasant land.” Not even the palace or the nobility is painted in jewel tones, though the queen mother, Joan of Kent (Katherine Waterston) has her hair encompassed with a deliciously delicate and accurate gold net.

The cast, comprising some of the best and brightest actors, is riveting. From Jonny Lee Miller’s wily mayor, William Walworth, to Tom Hollander as one of the king’s men, Sir Robert Hales, and Dónal Finn as a priest sympathetic to the peasants’ cause, there is a joy in watching them immersed in their characters.

Garfield, who we last saw as jolly Tim in The Magic Faraway Tree , embodies Ploughman’s heartbreak and strength right down to the scars of the bubonic plague on his neck. Bell is fire and zeal, while Jarvis brings the weight of a soldier’s experience.

It is only the Robin Hood-shaped epilogue that causes the film to trip up. Making The Uprising a Robin Hood origin story makes it look like the Peasants’ Revolt was not thrilling or accessible enough on its own. A look at the news indicates that the reading cannot be further from the truth.

Also, there is the small matter of historical accuracy — Robin Hood is traditionally attached to Richard the Lion Heart and the Crusades in the late 12 th century.