UPRISING

When word spreads of the ruling elite’s ruthless plans and a tax that falls hardest on the poorest, peasants already pushed to the breaking point decide to resist the tyranny of Richard II. What begins with a handful of rebels, led by a charismatic young insurgent (Andrew Garfield), soon swells into a wave of anger sweeping across the country. The oppressed are ready to wage war on the Crown.

In 1381, rebels from Essex and Kent, led by Wat Tyler and rallied by the preacher John Ball, rose against exploitation and a poll tax levied regardless of income. Few could have foreseen that the revolt would culminate in a march on London.

The bloody riots were brought to an end by an equally brutal crackdown by the king’s forces. But the myth of freedom and the struggle for justice took firm root in the minds of the English peasants, leading to the birth of the legend of Robin Hood.

BAFTA-winning director Paul Greengrass, who received an Academy Award nomination for UNITED 93 (2006), approaches this story of rage and rebellion with his characteristic journalistic immediacy, while fully embracing its brutality, intensity and restless camerawork. The jittery, urgent images capture the emotional force behind an uprising that marked a turning point in medieval English history and, centuries later, would continue to inspire the political left.

Text: Paula Apanowicz