Film
Peterloo
- Director
- Mike Leigh
- Certificate
- 12A
- Running Time
- 154 mins
What could be a better fit than Mancunian Mike Leigh and the 1819 Peterloo massacre, which prompted the founding of the Manchester Guardian? Released to mark the event’s, erm, 199th anniversary, Leigh’s suitably powerful and angry historical epic explores the background to the cavalry attack on peaceful protesters demanding democratic reform, during which 18 people lost their lives and many more were injured.
Leigh goes for a broad sweep rather than dwelling on individual characters, losing no opportunity to underline the massacre’s modern resonance – which perhaps explains why his old foes in the right-wing press have been so keen to dismiss his assertion that this lesson from history has been overlooked in schools. Mind you, lefties may raise an eyebrow at the fact that his biggest-budget film to date was bankrolled by those accomplished tax avoiders at Amazon.
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