THE UPRISING cast members Andrew Garfield, Thomasin McKenzie and director and writer Paul Greengrass told Movieguide® about the movie’s elements of faith.
The movie is set in 1381 at the time of the Peasants’ Revolt in England. A common farmer, known as Ploughman, played by Garfield, is fed up with the tyranny and starts the revolt.
“I think what was really interesting about those times are that people believed that justice came from God…and injustice was created by man,” Greengrass told Movieguide® this week. “And that really was the heart of the rebellion. People feeling that the justice they looked for was not being given to them in this world, and so they were being guided by higher forces to seek it. And I think that’s true of Alice.”
McKenzie’s character, Alice, is like a “moral compass” amid the turmoil of the uprising. She and Ploughman feel connected through their shared grief for the peasants of England.
Of his character’s search for justice, Garfield said, “For me, what feels different, maybe within the Ploughman, is there’s a humility. It’s weird; it feels like he doesn’t have his own will somehow. It feels like it’s coming from elsewhere.”
Related: The Uprising | Interview with Andrew Garfield, Paul Greengrass, and Thomasin McKenzie
In the movie, Ploughman is often covered in dirt. Garfield thought of it as a privilege to play the humble yet grimy character.
“It was a delight to be able to roll around in the mud and create a different relationship than a modern person would have with it. It’s very primal,” the actor said. “There’s a lot of energy there.”
Peasant Revolt historian Dr. Helen Killick met with Greengrass when he was researching for the movie.
“Paul told us he came up with the idea for doing a film on the Peasants’ Revolt during the pandemic. Obviously there was quite a lot of resistance to lockdown, and society has, in the last decade or so, become increasingly divided and fragmented,” she explained. “I imagine this led Paul to think about the issues of social discontent, revolt, representation and taxation that were the catalyst for the 1381 revolt.”
THE UPRISING recently collaborated on Fortnite to bring players a large-scale battleground inspired by the movie. The battle features various cinematic endings based on the outcome.
Fortnite’s announcement says, “Set in 1380s England, the custom 5v5 payload-escort experience pits Rebels against Kingsmen in a battle for London’s gates.”
The movie releases on Sept. 11. Stay tuned for Movieguide®’s review.
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