In The Rich But Scattered 'Peterloo,' Mike Leigh Presents Scenes From A Massacre
The writer/director's latest film, about the British government's deadly assault on protesters in 1819, instills a growing sense of dread, but divides our attention among too many characters.
Imagine a political conflagration that pits the impoverished against the elite. A working-class crowd assembles in a town square, calling for higher wages and access to the voting booth. Local authorities, terrified of an insurrection, move to quell the crowd by calling in armed forces. The scene turns violent, leaving about a dozen dead and hundreds injured.
That was 200 years ago, in Manchester, England. It's one of the formative events of the modern British government, and it's now a movie. , the latest from British
