It is a historical look at those events surrounding the famous Peterloo massacre. These events began in 1819, when a peaceful pro-democracy demonstration in St. Peter's Square in Manchester turned into a dangerous and unsafe turn. It is one of the bloodiest and most famous events in British history, where the people wanted to move from that corrupt stage but there are a large number of victims that occurred during that real disaster.
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.
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.
