Fall 2019: Peterloo

Originally screened: October 23, 2019

Director: Mike Leigh

Country: United Kingdom

Runtime: 155 minutes

A film with the power to lift and break your heart in equal measure, Mike Leigh’s Peterloo builds from the end of the Napoleonic Wars through the stirring of working-class political consciousness in 19th century England, right up to their stand at St. Peter’s Field in Manchester for the rights to vote and receive fair wages. Working, as always, in close concert with his actors to develop rich, lived-in characters, Leigh begins with a family (Maxine Peake, Pearce Quigley, David Moorst) and fans out to a broad tapestry of speech-makers and power-wielding politicians (Rory Kinnear, Karl Johnson). It might be his masterpiece.

Where to watch today: Peterloo is available to rent online via iTunes.