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Post by stephen on Mar 8, 2019 23:52:00 GMT
So yeah, I was real excited for this until I saw some posters whose opinions I hold in high esteem ridicule it, and I feared that even though he was coming off one of his finest film in Mr. Turner, Mike Leigh might have lost the thread. A story like Peterloo is far more ambitious in scope and far more at risk of falling on its face—as a lot of people said it did.
So imagine my pleasant delight at seeing that Peterloo hit the mark far more for me than it seemingly did for others (sorry, Ibbi). There is a sense of righteous indignation running through this film, which I quite relished—perhaps my appreciation of the film was augmented by the era in which we live, which stokes the fire that similarly burned two centuries ago, in the time the period depicts.
Chockfull of glorious costumes and production design, majestically lensed by Dick Pope Poop, Peterloo is the chronicle of a pro-democratic uprising in post-Napoleonic England, and how it all culminated in a shattering massacre in Manchester. The film has a sweeping scope with enough characters to populate a Ken Follett novel. Great actors like Maxine Peake and Rory Kinnear lend the already gravitas-laden project even more dignity, and indeed the way Leigh directs the various tete-a-tetes and machinations is like watching Balanchine direct a ballet. It isn't as flat-out genius as Naked, but it still speaks to Leigh's power and skill as a consummate filmmaker.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Mar 9, 2019 0:09:05 GMT
Gonna see this next week.
I have my fingers crossed, as Leigh is my favourite filmmaker and in my opinion has has never dropped the ball, though he came close with Life is Sweet and Career Girls.
Also, I'm gonna be there for anything with Maxine Peake.
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Post by JangoB on Mar 13, 2019 11:02:35 GMT
I never really doubted Leigh and I ended up being quite impressed and moved by this. The massive scale finale is truly shattering and haunting but the preceding two hours were also very engaging to me. I understand why it may seem like a boring history lesson for some but I found myself quite invested in the language (I think it really is a beautifully written movie) and in the speeches and in the gradual, thorough examination of the leadup to the massacre. The split between the political and the personal was handled very well and when it all collided in the final act, the emotion and the pain felt deeply earned. Also I have to give proper kudos to Leigh for making me want to stand up and protest along with the people without diving into cheap sentiment and lazy tricks like rousing music and obvious tugging at heartstrings. The film has this Mike Leigh detachment to it but at the same time it indeed makes the blood boil. It's not the best history film Leigh's done but I thought it was very worthy.
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speeders
Based
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Post by speeders on Mar 13, 2019 13:03:36 GMT
Oh, I want to see this now.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Mar 15, 2019 18:42:36 GMT
Mike Leigh has always been a film maker with a somewhat angry social conscience bubbling under in his films, and sometimes even spilling over. On some occasions, like in High Hopes, this isn't a good thing, and it detracts a bit from what might have otherwise been his best film, but in the case of Peterloo, his fury has found its perfect outlet, as he tells the story of a dark day in British history. He puts a shocking event on screen with no punches pulled, but perhaps his fifty odd year career taught him to bide his time and get to the event carefully and thoughtfully; a thing I doubt the Mike Leigh of thirty years ago would have done.
The opening two hours of this film are exemplary storytelling, and not only are they not dull, they are rather engrossing. It is through these well played two hours, that when the massacre happens, we truly care and understand about these peoples worthy and unselfish cause. This is all achieved with the help of a wonderful and near faultless ensemble. The usual standout, easily lauded performance of a Leigh film is absent here, and what you have is a couple of dozen notable characters, dutifully performed and all servicing the greater whole to the best of their abilities.
As a production this is excellent, and as a tribute to a group of people standing up to oppression for little more than a fairer price to a slice of bread and the right to a voice, it is fitting.
9.5/10
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on May 27, 2019 4:03:12 GMT
have to say I was very disappointed by this.
For a film full of fervent speeches and righteous indignation, I found Peterloo to be oddly lifeless, which is something I never thought I'd say about a Mike Leigh film. Here he develops the social landscape of the time and the movement for social reform at the story's center entirely in political meetings, parliamentary hearings, and the backroom dealings of corrupt aristocrats, and that's why the film is in dire lack of a human spark; the film's characters (can I even call them characters?) only matter to the extent that we know on which side they fall on an idealogical line. They speak in rhetoric not dialogue, and when they're not calling their brothers to action they occasionally slip in some exposition (thanks, movie, for saving curious viewers the ten seconds it would have taken them to look up 'habeas corpus' on their phones). Look, I get it, exposition to some extent is unavoidable, but here it glaringly contrasts with the film's unwillingness to characterize these characters beyond separating them by "oppressor" and "oppressed." Unfortunately, we know practically nothing about any of these people, so the script has all the dramatic heft of a Wikipedia article. That's why, even with Dick Pope behind the camera and a host of Leigh's acting regulars, the cinematic medium simply added nothing to the story Leigh was trying to tell.
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Post by ibbi on May 27, 2019 10:49:42 GMT
have to say I was very disappointed by this. For a film full of fervent speeches and righteous indignation, I found Peterloo to be oddly lifeless, which is something I never thought I'd say about a Mike Leigh film. Here he develops the social landscape of the time and the movement for social reform at the story's center entirely in political meetings, parliamentary hearings, and the backroom dealings of corrupt aristocrats, and that's why the film is in dire lack of a human spark; the film's characters (can I even call them characters?) only matter to the extent that we know on which side they fall on an idealogical line. They speak in rhetoric not dialogue, and when they're not calling their brothers to action they occasionally slip in some exposition (thanks, movie, for saving curious viewers the ten seconds it would have taken them to look up 'habeas corpus' on their phones). Look, I get it, exposition to some extent is unavoidable, but here it glaringly contrasts with the film's unwillingness to characterize these characters beyond separating them by "oppressor" and "oppressed." Unfortunately, we know practically nothing about any of these people, so the script has all the dramatic heft of a Wikipedia article. That's why, even with Dick Pope behind the camera and a host of Leigh's acting regulars, the cinematic medium simply added nothing to the story Leigh was trying to tell. Perfect summation! It wants to be like Dickens or something, but instead feels like you're reading a textbook. He should have made a documentary. |
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Post by Mattsby on Dec 22, 2019 20:05:09 GMT
Of all the 344 films eligible for Best Picture this year, I was surprised to see this one listed (I thought it was U.S.-released in 2018) ;
7/10. "I have little time for politics myself" says the sly, stuttering Sidmouth character, as he continues to talk politics. Hypocritical governance and its larger consequence is a lingering point made by Mike Leigh here in a mostly successful pic...
Impressive production and design down to the detail (teeth and such) - starts great, the juddered, damaged young soldier, the dwelling disparity of the classes, and those first two rallying speeches. In the first, everyone is looking around to see if what they're feeling is shared by the others. In the second, there's again the looking around to see who is and who isn't on board with a more infuriated motive. The whole middle section is where Mike Leigh stumbles, as he retreads and brings in too many characters and we lose the feeling of that central family with the young soldier. Rory Kinnear keeps it going - he's very good, slightly self-righteous, but big and eloquent and admirable too. I love the scene where he's being painted and asks the maid who's ashamed of her dirty hands to hold his paper as he writes his speech - from that scene to the end is great including the epic and devastating Peterloo sequence.
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