Andrew Garfield's New Movie Could Be an Epic Historical Drama, but Turned Out to Be a 57%-Rated Flop

Paul Greengrass has always had a knack for transforming real-life events into compelling cinematic works. His Bloody Sunday and United 93 set the standard for docudramas, and the Jason Bourne movies forever changed the spy thriller genre.

The Uprising, chronicling Wat Tyler's Peasants' Revolt of 1381, seemed poised to mark another career high point for Greengrass.

With Andrew Garfield in the lead role, a budget capable of recreating medieval England in all its gritty authenticity, and a powerful social message resonating with the events of the Covid-19 pandemic, all the ingredients for success were in place.

What Is 'The Uprising' About?

England in the early 1380s was enduring one of the darkest periods in its history. The Black Death had claimed a large part of the population, war with France dragged on endlessly, and the royal treasury was running dry. Yet, wealthy merchants and the clergy refused to replenish it.

State officials addressed the problem by tripling taxes on surviving farm laborers. A nameless plowman, having lost his wife and kids to the epidemic, struggles to till land as barren as his hopes for a better future.

When Crown representatives arrive to collect another levy and go too far, the plowman takes up his sickle. Inspired by his actions, the inhabitants of all the surrounding villages rose up just days later to fight against this tyranny.

'The Uprising' Is a Historical Drama That Stumbles Too Often to Become Epic

Paul Greengrass, who started out as a documentary filmmaker, chose to make the main character a nameless plowman rather than the rebellion's leader. The man embodies the thousands of peasants left out of the chronicles, which is a beautiful idea in theory but a serious dramatic misstep in practice.

The plowman has lost his family and been humiliated by the system, leaving him consumed by suffering and rage and people rally behind him because he was the first to say "no." Andrew Garfield can fill the silences where the script falls short, yet the character remains little more than a poster boy – albeit a high-quality one.

The real historical figures surrounding the protagonist feel far more alive: Jamie Bell transforms John Ball into a revolutionary preacher who reconciles the Gospel with class struggle. Cosmo Jarvis imbues Wat Tyler with the gravitas of a man who understands the realities of the uprising better than anyone else.

However, even these standout performances cannot compensate for the fact that The Uprising never fully commits to becoming a truly epic historical drama.

Greengrass' Signature Shaky-Cam Style Hinders Immersion in the Story Rather Than Helping It

Greengrass has always shot scenes as if the camera operator had stumbled upon the action by chance and was trying to avoid getting hit.

In Bloody Sunday, this approach transformed the reenactment of a tragedy into documentary-style reportage, and in the Bourne movies, the approach swept viewers along as the main character raced through train stations and across rooftops.

In The Uprising, Pål Ulvik Rokseth travels back to the 14th century, and the style works brilliantly at times – peasants are excellent subjects for a restless, handheld camera, especially when someone is about to lose their head a few minutes later.

Yet, the camera maintains the frantic energy even when the action pauses. This signature style, which once revolutionized the action genre, has evolved into such recognizable visual trope over the past twenty years that it sometimes undermines the immediacy it was designed to create.

The result is a deeply contradictory movie: too dynamic to be a dry history lesson yet too schematic to qualify as a grand historical drama.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'The Uprising'?

• The Uprising has 57% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the movie has a score of 6.6/10.

• On Letterboxd, The Uprising scored 3.0/5.0.

Where to Watch 'The Uprising'?

The Uprising is currently playing in theaters.