Peterloo

Peterloo was Exminster Film Club’s second film screening. This historical drama by acclaimed British director Mike Leigh takes us back to Manchester in 1819. Peterloo chronicles the events leading up to one of the bloodiest days in British history.

Shown: 2 October 2019

BBFC Ratings Badge 12A

Peterloo Plot Synopsis

An epic portrayal of the events surrounding the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester turned into one of the bloodiest and most notorious episodes in British history.

From The EFC Committee

Well the Film Club Committee did agree that we should show films of various genres and Peterloo was certainly a bit different from our showing of Fishermen’s Friends!

Those looking for a happy ending were clearly always going to be disappointed. However, the escalating tensions between the impoverished Mancunians and the government (supported by debauched royalty and the viciously strong arm of the law) were graphically depicted and made this a compelling film to watch. As with all films of historic events, Peterloo had to end at some point in time, so we were left without information about whether those horrific events in Manchester actually achieved any lasting result. But perhaps that will be covered in some future film production?

Film Reviews

Mike Leigh brings an overwhelming simplicity and severity to this historical epic, which begins with rhetoric and ends in violence. There is force, grit and, above all, a sense of purpose; a sense that the story he has to tell is important and real, and that it needs to be heard right now.

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Leigh’s visceral staging, especially in the climactic moments — brilliantly shot by his longtime collaborator/cinematographer Dick Pope — brings home the significance of a 200-year-old bloodbath that still speaks urgently to the disenfranchised.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Official Film Trailer for Peterloo


This Screening Is Supported By

BFI Film Forever Lottery Funded logo
Cinema for All Logo

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