September 10, 2026 · Watch the trailer
Rebellion isn’t a new concept in cinema. From “The Patriot” to “Star Wars,” “Gladiator” to “Braveheart,” taking a stand against perceived tyranny has been fruitful ground for filmmakers for decades. While there are always allegories to modern times in these tales of righteous insubordination, films in recent memory haven’t approached the moral quandaries of uprooting the system quite like Paul Greengrass’ new film, “The Uprising.”
Largely based on the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt in England, “The Uprising” follows a simple farmer mourning the death of his family due to the Black Plague and finding himself at the center of an armed march on London to ask for the king’s help after a massive tax increase.
Over the course of two hours, Greengrass drags audiences through fields and mud, pillaging and ransacking, while simultaneously lingering on questions of doing wrong for the right reasons. “The Uprising” is a gritty, tense drama that rarely finds anyone for audiences to rally behind and leaves far more questions than it does answers.
Andrew Garfield is exceptional as the farmer known simply in the film as the Ploughman, and it’s in Garfield’s insightful eyes and quivering lips that viewers are able to see the hesitancy with which the Ploughman acts, almost as if the wheels are actively turning in his head before every action. In the hands of a different performer, “The Uprising” could easily become a bloody, brutal slog akin to lesser medieval epics like “The King” and “Outlaw King.”
An exceptionally emotive performer, Garfield finds the humanity in his character and that which he seeks in others, and his Ploughman is conflicted with deep, unresolved emotional pain.
Unfortunately, it’s only in this character that Greengrass seeks to find any real depth and complexity, as the larger world of “The Uprising” is littered with supporting characters who serve the narrative without receiving the same psychological depth, and villains that err just on the edge of becoming mustache-twirling caricatures.
Jamie Bell and Cosmo Jarvis fit the profile of rebellion leaders John Ball and Wat Tyler well, and while “The Uprising” does a decent job showcasing their loose grip over a growing mob, nothing approaches the mental toll and anguish that this march seems to have on the Ploughman.
Thomasin McKenzie is terrific in an underserved role as Alyce, a former nun exiled from the church, and the limited scenes she has with Garfield are among the film’s best dialogue. Greengrass spends an exorbitant amount of time with King Richard II, his mother and their council, though the majority of the council becomes visually and narratively interchangeable enough that these scenes can occasionally become confusing. Both Woody Norman and Katherine Waterston make the most of the screen time they’re afforded, especially in the film’s second half.
In typical Greengrass fashion, “The Uprising” is consistently shot in his handheld style, with the frame rarely remaining completely steady as viewers shake up and down along with the camera operator through both combat and quieter narrative scenes.
It’s especially jarring to have characters simply walking down a hallway with the frame of reference constantly changing, which may easily break audiences’ suspension of disbelief. Intentionally heavy in its production design and cinematography, where viewers can almost feel the physical toll of the narrative, “The Uprising” is deeply coated in greens, browns and black mud to envelop the world of the film in a dirty texture.
The pulsating score from composer Volker Bertelmann also forces audiences to confront the urgency of the moment in a heavy-handed nature that at times feels a bit too on the nose, especially in the rare moments without Garfield in a scene. “The Uprising” is a moderately brutal film, with Greengrass only shying away from the gruesome nature of medieval combat to cut away from the numerous beheadings that occur. In the larger battle sequences, the very personal nature of the rebellion comes into focus, with justice being carried out by plough, scythe and pitchfork.
While the content seems like ready fodder for awards-season consideration, there doesn’t appear to be enough enthusiasm around the film itself to garner major attention, although “The Uprising” adds to the long list of Garfield’s filmography in which the actor delivers a knockout performance far beyond the quality of the film surrounding him.
A film that may take ardent cinephiles a bit more effort to find theatrically, “The Uprising” could easily merit a trip to theaters, although there’s nothing so urgent about the experience that would preclude waiting until it’s made available for at-home viewing.
Leave a Reply