Andrew Garfield helms a raw, kinetic, and rousing account of the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt.

In England, life for the many has become unbearable after the Black Death, decades of foreign war, and ever-increasing taxes raised by a small elite. When a bereaved ploughman lashes out against them, he starts a conflagration of revolts that spread nationwide: before long, the country has been upended and its future anyone’s to decide.

Writer-director Paul Greengrass (the Bourne sequels, Captain Phillips) uses his expertise with both stripped-down action and historical trauma to retell a major chapter of English history: in his hands, it becomes a ferociously immersive political thriller, and gains a human face through Garfield’s deeply felt performance. Though a key venue of the Revolt, St Albans is sadly absent – indeed, the majority of the film was shot in Germany.