...is a Mike Leigh movie from 2018, set in 1800s England, called Peterloo!

There are two very good reasons to watch Peterloo this month:

1. Mike Leigh's excellent new film Hard Truths is out in cinemas...so what better time to watch his unsung masterpiece?
2. As we collectively mourn the inauguration of Donald Trump, I find this historical drama a very moving story about how, even if the fight for democracy ends in carnage, there's still hope for the future (and that you and I can change it.)

What is Peterloo?

The film dramatizes the peaceful political rally held in Peter's Square in Manchester in the 1800s in favour of enfranchising the population of the newly booming industrial town.

It's a working-class story of political empowerment...but the rally, which happened on the heels of the Battle of Waterloo, ended in bloodshed (hence the name 'Peterloo') because the upper classes wanted to scare the working classes into submission.

How does Mike Leigh put his spin on the period drama?

I wrote a whole essay on this in Peterloo in Process: A Mike Leigh Collaboration. But here's the introduction:

“Mike Leigh’s Peterloo is a rare story about the fight for a fairer democracy: one of carnage rather than triumph, one that ends with tragedy and unfinished labour rather than success and social change. In other words, despite its broad canvas, including more than a hundred characters acting out historical events, Peterloo is every bit a Mike Leigh film: peppered with flawed, complicated characters, inspirational because it is a story of recognizable people, and nothing like the silk-swishing period pieces that are the staple of British cinema.

Why is Peterloo inspiring?

Here's the closing paragraph of my essay on the film in our ebook Peterloo in Process: A Mike Leigh Collaboration

“Despite the tragedy of Peterloo, I left the theatre invigorated about not just the need for change, but the feeling that spurring that change is something accessible to all of us. The organizers and participants at Peterloo are not Great Men, but flawed, complicated individuals; it is easy to see ourselves in them. Leigh and Pope deliberately put us in the shoes of characters who are deliberating about their political engagement. They are part of what makes Peterloo so terrifying for the upper classes: the sheer number of working-class people there could not be ignored. Leigh thus empowers viewers by making us feel like we, like the Ogdens, can do something. The battle of Peterloo may not have been won, but that is the point: the fight for democracy is ongoing."

How to watch Peterloo

🇨🇦 Hoopla, Apple TV 🇺🇸 Prime, Rent on Apple TV 🇬🇧 Rent/buy on Apple TV/Sky Store

​Find it in your country​

Happy watching!

Alex

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