Sound on Sound’s main stage, the Dragon’s Lair, was home to acts like Explosions in the Sky, Courtney Barnett, Young Thug, Purity Ring, and more.
Photo by Daniel Cavazos
Whoever had the idea to throw a music festival inside a mystical forest deserves many a taco. Last weekend saw the inaugural run of Sound on Sound Fest, the new brainchild from the founder of Fun Fun Fun Fest. Located approximately 45 minutes east of Austin at Sherwood Forest Faire, SOS Fest was full of frolicking festivalgoers, music, and overall good vibes.
Many guests spent a good chunk of Friday and some of Saturday getting acquainted with the vast festival grounds. The four stages (Dragon's Lair, Globe Stage, Forest Stage, and The Keep) were for the most part adequately spaced, although comedian Todd Barry did have some fun with main stage act Cursive, whose tunes were seeping ever so slightly into the Globe Stage environment.
Despite a heavy downpour on Sunday (which caused a two-hour delay), those who remained were gifted with excellent sets from the likes of Kero Kero Bonito, Courtney Barnett, Explosions in the Sky, and several other late-day acts. Hats off to all of the grounds and festival crew for working swiftly to ensure everyone was safely evacuated during the rain delay.
Here's to looking forward year two of Sound on Sound Fest.
Writer and director Paul Greengrass made his name with a cinéma vérité style of filmmaking that brought immediacy and depth to three Jason Bourne films, United 93, Captain Phillips, and more. In The Uprising, he uses those skills to tell the story of the so-called Peasants’ Revolt in 14th century England.
Greengrass wastes no time starting the main plot as Ploughman (Andrew Garfield) and his fellow villagers object to onerous taxes put on them by the country’s nobility, led by the young King Richard II (Woody Norman), to fund an ongoing war. Ploughman initiates a violent response over the tone-deaf — and unseemly — way the king’s guard go about their business, and the rebellion soon starts to spread across the countryside, with the citizens looking for a degree of autonomy.
The ever-expanding group makes their way toward London to try to make their case to the king himself. Meanwhile, the king’s top advisors, including Archbishop Sudbury (Stephen Dillane) and Treasurer Hales (Tom Hollander), try to usurp power from the inexperienced monarch even as the king’s mother (Katherine Waterston) tries to get him to be more assertive.
The history of the English monarchy is long and lurid, as Shakespeare detailed in multiple plays, including Richard II. Though the events in the film took place almost 650 years ago, it’s easy to see parallels between what the peasants were fighting for and modern-day politics. Greengrass’ storytelling intent is solid, and the righteous anger the citizens feel is initially relatable and palpable.
But the populism theme of the story soon gets bogged down in drudgery and minutiae that is difficult to understand, especially when the details are lost in the thick regional English accents. The leaders of the rebels — including John Ball (Jamie Bell), Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis), and Alyce (Thomasin McKenzie) — are shown doing a lot of planning, but the strong feelings they have about their quest don’t come across well, leaving the audience as passive observers.
When there is action, Greengrass and his team employ a frenetic style that is not great for comprehension. While the gist of what is happening and what side is winning is legible, individual moments go by so quickly so as to be nearly meaningless. Save for Ploughman, any connection that has been made with various characters proves futile, as Greengrass doesn’t seem to have any time for emotion. Scenes that should feel thrilling or heartbreaking instead come off as empty.
Garfield is a two-time Oscar nominee who has done great work across multiple genres. He’s fine in this role, but whether it’s the story, the filmmaking, or something else, he’s not as captivating as usual. The same goes for other strong actors like Bell, McKenzie, Dillane, Hollander, and Waterston, who each seem to be giving their all to their performances but are somehow muted in the process.
Done right, The Uprising could have been a rip-roaring account of people standing up against their oppressors. What Greengrass has made, though, is a film that can’t translate its medieval story for a modern audience and concentrates too much on unexciting elements and too little on thrilling ones.
