Peterloo trips over its clumsy pacing

PETERLOO

★★ out of 5

Cast: David Moorst, Tim McInnerny, Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake Director: Mike Leigh

Duration: 2 h 34 m Almost old enough to qualify as ancient history, the Peterloo Massacre occurred 200 years ago this summer, when British troops stormed a crowd at St. Peter’s Field, Manchester, who had gathered to demand parliamentary reform and greater suffrage. Eighteen civilians were killed and hundreds injured, including women and children. It was called Peterloo in reference to the battle of Waterloo, which was at the time a current event.

British writer/director Mike Leigh often makes movies about social issues (the abortion story, Vera Drake), or history (Mr. Turner, a biopic of the 19th-century painter). Here he combines the two into an unfortunately dry and overly long telling, bouncing between ordinary citizens and the ruling classes, from local politicians all the way up to the Prince Regent (Tim McInnerny).

The Mancunians put their hopes into “Orator Henry Hunt” (Rory Kinnear), who uses the descriptive adjective like a title and is adamant that the protestors must abandon all arms if they want to be taken seriously. Of course, history has already decreed how it all turns out.

I grant that we need some degree of setup to appreciate the victims’ outrage, but Leigh’s pacing is downright 19th-century itself, including a musical interlude.

There’s even some unintentional humour, as when officials decide they’re going to read the Riot Act to the crowd; people say that as a metaphor these days, but one of the men pulls out a tiny sheaf of paper and declares, “I have the Riot Act right here.” One should always resist the urge to giggle at historical tragedy, but in this case, perhaps enough time has passed.