Parents' Guide to Peterloo

Director Mike Leigh is a master of character-based dramas, but this long period epic doesn't really bother with characters; it focuses instead on arguments and speeches ... lots of speeches. Peterloo is intelligently written, and the dialogue sounds fine; history buffs who already know the story may be enthralled by the down-to-brass-tacks approach. But it isn't a dynamic movie -- it feels dry and static. It doesn't move or engage the same way that something like Steven Spielberg's Lincoln did. Part of the problem is the enormous tapestry of faces that passes before the camera; you're likely to have very little idea of who anyone is or know who's going to stick around.

Some characters who seem like they're going to be important simply disappear, and others are introduced so quickly that it takes a while to realize who they are. Meanwhile, the government men and royalty are portrayed as absolute monsters. (An awkward maid named Bessie is the only real standout, getting a few small laughs in her couple of scenes.) Another problem is that, while the dialogue feels historically accurate -- and appropriately, righteously angry -- it's mostly just shouting and debating. Rarely, if ever, does a character say something about who they actually are, which is the polar opposite of how other Leigh movies (Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky, Another Year, Mr. Turner) operate. As one character complains in one scene, it's all "talk, talk, talk," and no action.