On the 16th of August 1819, thousands of working people gathered at St Peter's Field in Manchester to demand the reform of parliamentary representation. Worried that the protest might result in an uprising similar to the French revolution, the conservative government of the time sent out mounted “yeomen” militia, who in turn charged the crowd leaving 15 dead and several, including children, injured.

In his latest film Peterloo, veteran British director Mike Leigh charts the events leading up to the massacre in an epic and immersive period piece which attempts to highlight the particular social climate which preceded the events, and the national outcry that followed.

The story starts four years before the main event. A young traumatised soldier named Joseph (David Moorst) is seen making his way home to the north of England after the deadly battle of Waterloo. Arriving home to be met by his proud mother Nellie (Maxine Peake), the young soldier soon finds that living conditions have deteriorated even further since he left home, with mill owners reducing wages and the government raising taxes to help pay for the war.

Incensed by the lack of parliamentary representation for their area, a culture of radicalism and protest is soon born amongst the workers, resulting in frequent strikes and continued protest against factory bosses and local authorities. Things take an unexpected turn when the newly formed local publication The Manchester Observer invites Henry Hunt (Rory Kinnear), a vain and deeply self-aggrandising radical figure, to speak at a public meeting.

For all its timeliness and urgency, Peterloo presents a rather dull and overly wordy narrative which might struggle to appeal to those familiar with Leigh’s more contemporary social realist output. Opting to accompany this, otherwise, compelling story with some unnecessarily lengthy and frequent speeches, Leigh has sadly missed the opportunity to make his film more accessible to mainstream audiences.

Drawing parallels between recent social unrests in the country, and what he sees as the continued alienation of the north by central governments, Leigh does however manage to hit some right notes. He does this by highlighting the need for a more even representation, a point he followed in real life by opting to premiere his film in Manchester, despite it being part of the London Film Festival programme.

All in all, Perterloo offers some solid performances courtesy of Peake and Kinnear who both bring a certain amount of gravitas to their roles, performances which almost exonerate the screenplay from the cartoonish representation of some of its less sympathetic characters.