Massacre in Manchester’s killing field
MOVIES have taught us plenty about aristocratic history but until now, no film-maker has bothered to show us what unfolded on St Peter’s Field, Manchester, two centuries ago. Salford-born director Mike Leigh aims to put that right with his beautifully shot, powerfully performed and rightly furious drama about this neglected turning point in British history.
On August 16, 1819, 100,000 working-class Lancastrians gathered peacefully on what would now be called a pro-democracy demonstration.
By today’s standards, their demands seem modest. They simply wanted to earn enough money to eat and sought a vote in general elections, a right then reserved for the class of people who put them to work in the county’s dark satanic mills.
The authorities’ response was to call in the cavalry. A combined attack by the military and the officers of Manchester and Salford Yeomanry left 15 dead and hundreds seriously injured.
The press ironically dubbed it Peterloo after the glorious battle of Waterloo. But the authorities in London took that as a badge of honour. To them, the seeds of dangerous dissent had been righteously crushed.
But while they had won the battle, they would lose the war. Peterloo became a rallying point for working-class protest and a pivotal moment in the march towards universal suffrage.
On paper this seems like an unusual project for Leigh, who is best known for small-scale, actor-centric dramas such as Secrets & Lies and Abigail’s Party. And there are moments in this very wordy drama when you wonder how this story might have been told by a more action-focused film-maker such as Bloody Sunday director Paul Greengrass.
But the power of Leigh’s film lies in the way it contextualises the massacre. The fascinating build-up shows us how Britain reached this moment and what motivated key figures on both sides. In Lancashire, we see simmering resentment grip the mill workers.
Activists voice their grievances in raucous political meetings on the moors and in dingy meeting rooms.
No one character dominates but Maxine Peake delivers some memorable lines as mill worker Nellie and Neil Bell shines as Sam Bamford, a pragmatic reformer who has high hopes for an upcoming rally.
To appeal to the better instincts of the Prince Regent (Tim McInnerny), Bamford wants pompous middle-class reformer Henry Hunt (Rory Kinnear) to come from London to be the rally’s star speaker.
Sadly, the bloated Prince’s instincts are all about self-preservation. He fears the “rabble” will overturn the class system, as happened in revolutionary France.
It is a view shared by the mill owners of Lancashire, the land-owning magistrates of Manchester and the corrupt politicians in London.
When the workers gather with the families for the rally, we already know precisely what is at stake.
And when the cavalry charges, excitement quickly descends into horror and confusion. Some of the soldiers seem to be settling scores, others seem horrified by their orders.
Leigh is painting on the broadest of canvases with this ambitious and furious film. It seems the 75-year-old is just getting started.