Andrew Garfield's 'The Uprising' Splits Critics: A Medieval Epic Divided

Paul Greengrass's latest feature, "The Uprising," plunges audiences into the tumultuous period of England's 1381 Peasants' Revolt, a significant historical event fueled by the devastating aftermath of the Black Death and oppressive taxation. The film stars Andrew Garfield as the stoic and grieving "Ploughman," a character who embodies the collective anguish of a populace pushed to its limits and becomes the unwitting spark of a widespread rebellion.

Greengrass, known for his masterfully chaotic docudramas like "Bloody Sunday" and "United 93," brings his distinctive "shaky-cam" visual style to this medieval setting. While some critics find this aesthetic jarring in a historical context, it aims to create a visceral and immediate experience, blending documentary-honed realism with a sense of emerging folklore. The film's production design by Nikolaj Danielsen meticulously captures a gritty, unromanticized vision of 14th-century English life, avoiding any sanitization of the era's harsh realities or the conflict's brutal violence.

The narrative centers on Garfield's Ploughman, a man who has lost his family to the Plague and, with little left, snaps when a neighbor faces execution by a short-tempered poll-tax collector. His defiant act ignites a revolution among the peasants, with word of his deeds reaching radical figures like the priest John Ball (Jamie Bell) and former soldier Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis). This growing movement marches on London, demanding justice and freedom from the coercive council manipulating the 14-year-old King Richard II (Woody Norman).

The film skillfully contrasts the Ploughman's evolution from a reactive individual to a revolutionary leader with the portrayal of the young King Richard II, who is discreetly controlled by powerful handler-oligarchs such as Treasurer Robert Hales (Tom Hollander) and Archbishop Sudbury (Stephen Dillane). While Garfield imbues his largely non-verbal role with gravitas and humility, he sometimes gets lost amid the multitude of supporting characters as the rebellion swells. Thomasin McKenzie delivers a fierce performance as Alyce, a fellow rebel eager for bloodshed, and Katherine Waterston offers a penetrating gaze as Joan of Kent, witnessing the transformations of both her son and the Ploughman.

However, "The Uprising" faced an unusual marketing challenge. Perilously close to its release, Focus Features added the subtitle "The Rise of Robin Hood" to the film's title, a move that sparked immediate controversy and was quickly retracted. While Greengrass's script does subtly imply parallels to the Robin Hood legend – drawing on the earliest mentions of the outlaw in 1370s folklore despite the Peasants' Revolt occurring two centuries after the traditional Robin Hood era – the overt subtitle was seen as a "Hail Mary" that hindered the film's ability to stand on its own as a historical drama. Critics noted that the film works better without the explicit Robin Hood connection, as it sets up false expectations for audiences anticipating a traditional tale of the famed outlaw.

Despite this marketing misstep and some criticism regarding its digital effects—such as "faux-drone" overhead flights and CGI London-in-flames shots described as "clinical generica"—"The Uprising" resonates with timely themes. It highlights the persistent chasm between the wealthy and the poor, reminding audiences that revolutions are born from everyday people and that a united populace can achieve significant change. The film also serves as a potent warning about the bloodshed that ensues when leaders' power goes unchecked. Ultimately, "The Uprising" is a well-acted, albeit sometimes uneven, historical drama with pertinent contemporary messages that would have benefited from trusting its audience to recognize its underlying themes and allusions without the need for an obvious intellectual property connection.