This film is part of Rentals
Peterloo
Mike Leigh orchestrates a superb ensemble cast in this rousing tale of working class uprising and its violent suppression in Manchester in 1819.
Director: Mike Leigh
Overview
As shell-shocked soldiers return from the battle of Waterloo, they find their hometowns ravaged by a gentry upping food costs and ripping off the working classes. The French have already had their revolution and the disenfranchised men and women of Manchester are stirring with their own desire for reform. Nellie (Maxine Peake) is sceptical. Raising her family on a pittance, she is more concerned with food on the table than attending the increasingly volatile protest meetings. But many have been inspired. A peaceful march and assembly is arranged, where the star speaker will be Henry Hunt (Rory Kinnear), a radical orator famous throughout the land for his stimulating rhetoric. As the day approaches the government grows nervous, while the people grow emboldened.
In Peterloo, director Mike Leigh is working at the pinnacle of his powers, gloriously drawing together so many of his preoccupations: class consciousness, family dynamics, hypocrisy, humanism and the foibles of the male ego. Against the backdrop of cinematographer Dick Pope’s beautiful Manchester/Lancashire canvas, the film weaves multiple stories of everyday people into a socialist tapestry and depicts an act of police brutality with huge contemporary relevance. Warm, funny and incendiary, this is a major work of cinema.
moderate violence, language
Related
Girls Will Be Girls Girls Will Be Girls
Drama 2024 119 mins Director: Shuchi Talati
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of the 2024 Sundance audience prize.
The Goldman Case The Goldman Case
Drama 2023 116 mins Director: Cédric Kahn
Gripping courtroom drama based on the explosive 1976 murder trial of French political activist, Pierre Goldman.
In Camera In Camera
Drama 2024 95 mins Director: Naqqash Khalid
A struggling actor faces relentless knockbacks in Naqqash Khalid’s sharp-witted comment on race and identity in the film industry.
Kneecap Kneecap
Drama 2024 105 mins Director: Rich Peppiatt
Fantastically outlandish biopic about the anarchic Belfast rap trio and their fight to save the Irish language.
The Post The Post
Drama 2017 116 mins Director: Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed, gripping and timely drama about the publishing of the Pentagon Papers, featuring Tom Hanks and an Oscar-nominated performance from Meryl Streep.
Denial Denial
Drama 2017 110 mins Director: Mick Jackson
Powerful, aggressively relevant courtroom drama restaging the trial that questioned the events of the Holocaust. Rachel Weisz and Timothy Spall star.
The Wife The Wife
Drama 2018 100 mins Director: Björn Runge
Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce are the spouses with a secret in a tight, taut drama of ego and legacy.
First Man First Man
Drama 2018 141 mins Director: Damien Chazelle
Ryan Gosling stars as Neil Armstrong in this powerful and sometimes petrifying biopic from the director of La La Land.
Boys on Film 19: No Ordinary Boy Boys on Film 19: No Ordinary Boy
Anthology 2018 137 mins Director: Leon Lopez and Marco Alessi
The Boys on Film series reaches the end of its teenage years with another compilation celebrating male desire in all its forms.
Snowpiercer Snowpiercer
Science Fiction 2013 126 mins Director: Bong Joon-ho
After a global catastrophe launches the world into a new ice age, the last of humanity are trapped on a high-speed train that circles the globe infinitely.
Arcadia Arcadia
Documentary 2018 79 mins Director: Paul Wright
A folk horror wrapped up in an archive film, set to a soundtrack by Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Will Gregory (Goldfrapp).
Lynn + Lucy Lynn + Lucy
Drama 2019 88 mins Director: Fyzal Boulifa
A lifelong friendship is tested by tragedy in this atmospheric and intense first feature from acclaimed British shorts director Fyzal Boulifa.
Trespass Against Us Trespass Against Us
Crime 2017 99 mins Director: Adam Smith
Brendan Gleeson and Michael Fassbender are the father and son outlaws in this exhilarating crime drama with a Chemical Brothers soundtrack.
Cuban Fury Cuban Fury
Comedy 2014 98 mins Director: James Griffiths
Nick Frost plays the one-time teen salsa champion, lured back to the dancefloor in an attempt to win the girl of his dreams.
The Imitation Game The Imitation Game
Biopic 2014 115 mins Director: Morten Tyldum
Benedict Cumberbatch’s roundly acclaimed performance anchors the incredible, Oscar-winning story of code-breaker Alan Turing.
Broken Broken
Drama 2013 91 mins Director: Rufus Norris
A compelling drama of splintered families and warring neighbours, with a stunning debut from young Eloise Laurence. With Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy.
Funny Cow Funny Cow
Comedy 2018 102 mins Director: Adrian Shergold
Maxine Peake plays a woman who rises above abusive relationships and crass sexist audiences of the 1970s to become a female stand-up comedian.
Gwen Gwen
Drama 2018 84 mins Director: William McGregor
A young girl tries desperately to protect her family from illness and dark outside forces in William McGregor's stark period horror.
Fanny Lye Deliver'd Fanny Lye Deliver'd
Drama 2020 112 mins Director: Thomas Clay
The wife of a puritanical farmer seems resigned to her lot, until she has her head turned by the arrival of a young couple in Thomas Clay’s provocative period drama.
Edge Edge
Drama 2012 92 mins Director: Carol Morley
A group of people gather at the Cliff Edge Hotel, where death is never far away, in this early, micro-budget feature from Carol Morley.
Mr. Turner Mr. Turner
Biopic 2014 150 mins Director: Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh’s Cannes-winning account of the later years of J. M. W. Turner, brilliantly played by Timothy Spall.
Another Year Another Year
Drama 2010 124 mins Director: Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh's drama about contented couple (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) who play host to various friends, each struggling to find happiness.
Happy-Go-lucky Happy-Go-lucky
Comedy 2008 118 mins Director: Mike Leigh
Sally Hawkins shines in her breakout role as the perpetually sunny Poppy, in Mike Leigh’s charming drama about the power of optimism.
Bleak Moments Bleak Moments
Drama 1971 111 mins Director: Mike Leigh
Sylvia (Anne Raitt) leads a quiet life caring for her sister Hilda (Sarah Stephenson) who has complex care needs in Mike Leigh's deeply affecting debut feature film.
Vera Drake Vera Drake
Drama 2005 120 mins Director: Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh’s acclaimed story of a selfless woman who performs unlawful abortions in 1950s Britain; both an affecting drama and vital social history.
Meantime Meantime
Drama 1983 107 mins Director: Mike Leigh
Tim Roth, Phil Daniels and Gary Oldman star in Mike Leigh’s TV film about an East End family try to stay afloat during a recession.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
The Ballymurphy Precedent The Ballymurphy Precedent
Documentary 2018 108 mins Director: Callum Macrae
John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.
Utopia Utopia
Documentary 2013 111 mins Director: John Pilger and Alan Lowery
John Pilger's portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture is also an investigation into a suppressed colonial past, and rapacious present.
The Coming War on China The Coming War on China
Documentary 2016 113 mins Director: John Pilger
John Pilger’s prescient 60th film for ITV is both a warning and an inspiring story of resistance.
Girls Will Be Girls Girls Will Be Girls
Drama 2024 119 mins Director: Shuchi Talati
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of the 2024 Sundance audience prize.