Independent Cinema for Everyone

Mike Leigh's latest film is 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. The massacre saw British government forces charge into a crowd of over 60,000 that had gathered to demand political reform and protest against rising levels of poverty. Many protestors were killed and hundreds more injured, sparking a nationwide outcry but also further government suppression. The Peterloo Massacre was a defining moment in British democracy.

Dir. Mike Leigh, UK, 2018, 154 mins.
Cast. Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Neil Bell, Pearce Quigley, Rachel Finnegan.