Peterloo reviews

[Precious Doll]

It appears enough reviews have followed THR lead so to speak and Oscar wise Peterloo is doomed.

For what it is worth it is showing 63% on Rotten Tomatoes and 70% on Metacritic and won't be released in the U.S. until April next year, so the thread should probably be moved (if possible) to 2019 but its not going to be a player.

I did go into this with low expectations given the mixed response but was pretty much captivated for most of the running time, though is lulls a little in the middle. Mike Leigh's idiosyncratic characters are all on display in all their glory and he effortlessly weaves his vast array of characters and their respective viewpoints with ease. Production values are first rate across the board.

There is no one 'standout' performance as the nearest one gets to a central figure is Rory Kinnear's Henry Hunt and he doesn't appear until after an hour into the running time and is intercut with all the other strands of the story. That said, the cast of unknowns to me anyway, are uniformly excellent.

It's a shame that some critics have dismissed the film but apart from THR I haven't read any other reviews and probably won't so what issues people have with the film will remain a mystery to me. Though based on events that took place in 1819 in Manchester the film's subject matter has relevance with our world today. Hopefully, the passage of time we treat the film better.

The film is unlike anything Leigh has tackled before and makes a great companion piece to Bill Douglas' little seen Comrades (1986), which is also based on historic events. Despite its numerous characters and storylines the film is very easy to follow.

I was unfamiliar with the events depicted in the film but there is one historical inaccuracy that my partner observed. The events took place in 1819 and Australia is referred to by a magistrate in the film. This would not have been possible as in 1819 the part of Australia claimed by the British was still officially referred to as New South Wales and the name of Australia was not officially named until 1824. The Botany Bay reference is current though. It's not even really a quibble as far as I'm concerned but I probably should have imdb update there 'goofs' page for the film to include this.

On a final note I was rather surprised to see that Peterloo is an Amazon/BFI co-production. Given Amazon's reputation as an horrendous abuser of workers rights and working conditions this has to be one of the oddest choices to make in financing a film that stands against things Amazon has been accused for practicing. Strange world we live in.

[Precious Doll]

Ho-hum from THR: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/revie ... ew-1139045

Far better Mike Leigh films have got nothing so beyond technical categories this is doomed if other reviewers fall into line.