It is a story that looks more provocative as it speaks of a demonstration that changed the course of history. The story tells of the events surrounding the famous 1822 massacre of Peterloo, where a peaceful pro-democracy demonstration turned into bickering and bloodshed everywhere. This was modernity in St. Peter's Square in Manchester, where it was one of the bloodiest and most famous events in British history. Perhaps everyone was aspiring to political and economic reform, but there were many dead and wounded.
26 January 1991, Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK
1955, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
1981, Bolton, Lancashire, England, UK
31 August 1980, Warwickshire, England, UK
1973, Rochdale, England, UK
8 August 1973, London, England, UK
17 December 1960, London, England, UK
27 April 1979, Rochdale, England, UK
1972, Manchester, England, UK
19 September 1954, Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK
8 September 1962, Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK
February 06, 2019
The most disappointing film of the year.September 01, 2018
The authenticity is immersive, even if the historical exposition occasionally feels like prep for an exam no one's warned you about.September 01, 2018
Leigh's passion for the material seems to have led him to approach it from an angle more pedagogic than artistic.September 08, 2018
You can feel Leigh's fury glowering off the screen through the entire last act, but that fury does the film and the filmmaker little service.September 01, 2018
With this richly intelligent, passionate movie Mike Leigh has fought a brilliant rearguard action on history's political battlefield.December 13, 2018
Peterloo feels a little too much like an agenda is being pushed, but this is nevertheless a powerful, pertinent piece of work.November 18, 2018
Violence takes a backseat to powerful rhetoric in this dense, Universal Credit-era history lesson.January 23, 2019
Peterloo's deliberate pacing and structure makes the evolution of a movement feel completely organic.January 25, 2019
It seems perverse that a film of such length should find no home for so many of its director's assets. Detailed character-work, complex domestic relationships, humour: these are elements that would have made the picture engaging.November 07, 2018
It is beautifully shot and the costume department have a real eye for detail... but despite the sheer drama of these historical events and their relevance to today's fractured world, Peterloo fails to ignite real passion and anger.September 02, 2018
Those with the patience and attention span are rewarded; the last 30 minutes is perhaps the most visceral filmmaking Leigh has ever pulled off...September 01, 2018
It's a stately, explicitly rhetorical paean to the people - setting the past in stone while also lashing out at a present-day political order.