It stars Andrew Garfield and comes from writer-director Paul Greengrass. But is The Uprising a Robin Hood film? Its marketers can’t seem to decide. Writer-director Paul Greengrass is set to apply his documentary-style approach to filmmaking in The Uprising – a period piece about the 14th century Peasants’ Revolt. Or, alternatively, it’s a stealth Robin ... The Uprising | Marketing sparks fascinating confusion over whether it’s a Robin Hood film or not
It stars Andrew Garfield and comes from writer-director Paul Greengrass. But is The Uprising a Robin Hood film? Its marketers can’t seem to decide.
Writer-director Paul Greengrass is set to apply his documentary-style approach to filmmaking in The Uprising – a period piece about the 14th century Peasants’ Revolt. Or, alternatively, it’s a stealth Robin Hood movie. The film’s marketing departments on either side of the Atlantic can’t seem to decide.
The confusion began when clips began circulating on social media, all carrying the line, “Witness the rise of Robin Hood.”
One clip posted to Facebook on the 20th August even titles the film The Uprising: The Rise Of Robin Hood.
This is rather confusing, because it’s been known for a while that Greengrass’s film dramatises the Great Uprising of 1381, in which tens of thousands of citizens (not ‘peasants’, but rather artisans and workers) protested against high taxes and years of depressed wages following the Black Death.
A key figure in that uprising was Wat Tyler, who led a march of protesters to London; in the film, he’s played by Cosmo Jarvis. Leading The Uprising, however, is Andrew Garfield, whose character is currently credited simply as the Ploughman.
For at least a month, The Uprising's American marketing has vaguely suggested that Garfield’s character might be revealed late in the film as Robin Hood, or at least the real-world figure who inspired the legend.
On YouTube (see above), distributor Focus Features has the following synopsis beneath The Uprising's trailer, uploaded in July:
Andrew Garfield stars as the leader of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II. Set against the true events of the Uprising that helped inspire the legend of Robin Hood, he forms an army of the people to face the King’s might in a fight for justice.
Here’s where things get more confusing, though. Look at the marketing patter put out by The Uprising’s UK distributor, Entertainment Film Distributors (EFD), and there’s no mention of Robin Hood at all:
Andrew Garfield stars as the legendary leader of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II. As war burns across England, he forms an army of the people to face the King’s might in a fight for justice and survival.
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Determined to get to the bottom of this, Metro contacted EFD about the whole Robin Hood thing, and in a statement, the company denied that there was any connection between The Uprising and the legendary outlaw:
“The Uprising is a historical epic about the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, not Robin Hood,” EFD wrote. “The UK marketing campaign does not make any reference to Robin Hood. Marketing materials posted by other countries that may appear in the UK online and on social media referencing Robin Hood are not issued or approved by us.”
The way we see it, there are two possibilities here. One, The Uprising’s US marketers have belatedly decided to hitch the film’s cart to the Robin Hood name – an odd move, given that the character is hardly known for selling cinema tickets. And lest we forget, Hugh Jackman is starring in A24’s The Death Of Robin Hood, due to hit cinemas on the 2nd September.
Or, alternatively: Garfield was always intended to be a stealth Robin of Loxley, and that it was originally designed to be a third-act reveal. See such films as Star Trek Into Darkness and Spectre for similarly dramatic moments.
As the Metro points out, Robin Hood’s tale took place in the 12th century, during the rule of Richard the Lionheart. The Peasants’ Revolt took place 200 years later, during the reign of Richard II.
There’s the get-out that stories about Robin of Loxley didn’t appear until around the 15th century. It’s also possible that Andrew Garfield’s character is a reference to the poem Piers Plowman, which contains what is thought to be the first written reference to a figure called Robin Hood.
So what gives? For now, mild confusion reigns. Cinema-goers in the US may be able to crack the conundrum first, as The Uprising releases on the 10th September there.
Peasants, workers and artisans in the UK will have to wait until the 9th October. We predict a riot.
