Ironclad
is a 2011 British action historical drama film directed by Jonathan English.
Written by English and Erick Kastel, based on a screenplay by Stephen McDool,
the cast includes James Purefoy, Brian Cox, Kate Mara, Paul Giamatti, Vladimir
Kulich, Mackenzie Crook, Jason Flemyng, Derek Jacobi, and Charles Dance. The
film chronicles the siege of Rochester Castle by King John in 1215.[6] The film
was shot entirely in Wales in 2009 and produced on a budget of $25 million.
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Plot
A
prologue describes how the barons of England, aided by the Knights Templar,
fought against the tyrannical King John in a war that lasted more than three
years. The war ended with King John signing Magna Carta, a document granting
rights to all English freemen. John regrets signing Magna Carta and in
retaliation hires an army of pagan Danish mercenaries under the leadership of
warlord Tiberius to restore his absolute authority.
The Abbot
Marcus leads three Templar knights on a pilgrimage to Canterbury and they take
shelter from the rain at Darnay Castle. One of the knights, Thomas Marshall, is
assured by the abbot that Marshall's release from the Templar Order will be
sought at Canterbury. By morning, King John arrives at the castle with his army
and mercenaries. Baron Darnay signed Magna Carta and in retribution John orders
him hanged. The Abbot attempts to intervene and the King orders that the
abbot's tongue be cut off. Marshall and the two other knights fight the Danes,
during which Marshall escapes the castle on horseback carrying the abbot; the
two knights left behind are slain. The abbot dies of his wound, and Marshall
breaks his vow of silence to swear that his sacrifice will not be in vain.
Once he
has reached Canterbury, Marshall meets with Archbishop Langton, the author of
Magna Carta, and Baron William d'Aubigny, a former soldier turned wool
merchant. Langton reveals that the Pope has sided with King John and that he
himself is to be excommunicated for writing Magna Carta. The three men agree
that John must be stopped and that the place to do so is Rochester Castle, the
seat of Baron Cornhill and a stronghold that controls southern England and
allows access to London and the rest of the country.
d'Aubigny
persuades three of his men to join him, including his squire, Guy, and a petty
criminal named Jedediah, but a fourth turns down the baron's call to arms. A
party of seven finally leaves for Rochester where, on arriving, they discover
several Danish mercenaries have already claimed the castle; the fourth man had
betrayed them to the king. Aubigny's party fights and kills the Danes, and then
claims Rochester Castle in the name of the rebellion, much to the displeasure
of Cornhill. When John's army finally arrives and lays siege to Rochester, the
garrison holds fast and manages to beat the initial Danish assault. In the
aftermath, Aubigny offers his men leave if they wish; none accept.
A second
assault sees the Danes' siege tower destroyed by a trebuchet crafted by the
defenders from within. John's forces then attempt to starve out the defenders.
The Archbishop is informed that Prince Louis is biding his time in France and
negotiating with John, and sets off to expedite affairs. As the season turns to
winter, the hunger of the castle's occupants continues; Marshall leaves the
castle under cover of night and then returns ahead of his pursuers with food
stolen from the Danish camp. Morale is bolstered by Marshall's act and gives in
to the advances of Cornhill's young wife, Isabel, breaking his Templar vows.
Tiberius,
threatened by John to take the castle or risk the King reneging on their
bargain, adopts a different approach in his next attack and manages to sneak a
small force of men over the walls before dawn to open the gates from within.
Guy discovers them and sounds the alarm, but Tiberius leads the charge into the
castle grounds while his Danes slaughter the garrison. During the chaos,
d'Aubigny is wounded and left behind. Marshall recovers in time to don his
knight's battle armour and charge the Danes on his war-horse, buying time for
the survivors to pull back to the keep.
Aubigny
is dragged before the King and forced to watch as the hands of two prisoners
are chopped off. After a defiant verbal exchange with John, he is subjected to
the same fate and then hurled by the castle trebuchet into a keep wall.
Cornhill tries to surrender but is stopped; he goes instead upstairs to his
bedroom and hangs himself. John's engineers have been preparing a mine under
the keep's foundation. They have a herd of pigs brought and put in the mine
which is then stoked, set afire and the animal fat used to damage the keep's
foundation, causing it to collapse; as the keep's walls come down, the final
assault begins.
The last
defenders are killed except Guy, Isabel, and Marshall, the latter knocked
unconscious by falling rubble. Guy goes out to die fighting where he encounters
Tiberius and is almost killed, until a recovered Marshall intervenes and
Marshall triumphs after a savage duel. Horns are heard in the distance as the
combined English rebel and French army arrives last, and John and the remaining
Danes disperse in panic. Marshall meets Prince Louis and Archbishop Langton at
the castle gates; the latter tells him that he is now free of the Templar
Order. Acknowledging England's new king with a nod, Marshall rides off with
Isabel, while Guy tells his dead baron that "We held".
The epilogue describes King John's death during his retreat and the reconstruction of Rochester Castle, and how it, like Magna Carta, still stands.
