Calum Cooper Source (Scotland) Jul 14, 2024 3/5

Leigh seems to have made this film as a cautionary tale, warning those in power not to repeat the mistakes of history. Whether this is the case or not, it was what I personally took away from the film, and I found the message very powerful.

Go to Full Review

Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Mar 3, 2022 4/4

It's a masterfully made film, and a passionate statement from a humanist filmmaker that never resorts to drawing modern-day parallels; he does not need to, as the implications remain intractable.

Go to Full Review

Taylor Baker Drink in the Movies Oct 4, 2021 75/100

Episode 41: Best of 2019 So Far

Go to Full Review

Tori Brazier Flickering Myth Mar 25, 2021 3/5

Its dense historical narrative hinders Peterloo's watchability as a film but the events it retells are compelling ... [and] performed by a talented and wide-reaching cast.

Go to Full Review

David Walsh World Socialist Web Site Feb 10, 2021

Leigh has captured the essence of the historical moment and its enduring significance.

Go to Full Review

Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Sep 19, 2020 3.0/4.0

Compelling cinema for the discerning moviegoer.

Go to Full Review

Yasser Medina Cinefilia Jul 30, 2020 6/10

In the end, the extensive length takes its toll until the historical narrative is no longer interesting. It's a minor Leigh movie. [Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Matt Cipolla Film Monthly Jul 25, 2020 2.5/5

Yes, Leigh still knows how to mount a handsome production. He just doesn't go past that here.

Go to Full Review

Adrian Martin ScreenHub Jun 26, 2020

Among the worst and most awkward films of a terribly overrated director.

Go to Full Review

John Beifuss Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) Jun 22, 2020 4/4

Leigh presents history as breaking news and as augury: The age of 'gilded reptiles' -- to borrow a labor agitator's characterization of the 19th-century ruling class -- is with us still.

Go to Full Review

Doris Toumarkine FilmDINGHY.com Feb 11, 2020

Even when constrained by the small spaces of peasant quarters or interiors lit only by candlelight, the film is a visual achievement of beauty and authenticity.

Go to Full Review

Cameron Meier MeierMovies.com Jan 8, 2020 3.75/5

From the thick dialects of northern England, to the period garb, to the poverty-strewn faces of the old women barking half a dozen eggs for a "penny farthing" in the market, Peterloo weaves a rich tapestry.

Go to Full Review

Daniel Barnes Dare Daniel Dec 18, 2019 4.5/5

Riveting from start to finish.

Go to Full Review

Peter Rainer FilmWeek (LAist) Sep 27, 2019

It's talky, but a lot of the talk is quite interesting and passionate. It's sort of like being in a really good town hall meeting.

Go to Full Review

Alex Heeney Seventh Row Sep 20, 2019

Mike Leigh's Peterloo is a rare story about the fight for a fairer democracy: one of carnage rather than triumph, one that ends with tragedy and unfinished labour rather than success and social change.

Go to Full Review

Adrian Mack Georgia Straight Jul 24, 2019

When that climax comes, helped along by a hasty reading of the riot act, ale for the troops, and the provocateuring of Home Office spies, Peterloo explodes into epic cinema-and epic rage.

Go to Full Review

Brenden Gallagher The Daily Dot Jul 9, 2019 3/5

Peterloo has moments of beauty... But without conflict between characters and in the minds of viewers, Peterloo fails to rise above a shiny piece of propaganda.

Go to Full Review

Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Jul 8, 2019 A-

An epic historical film.

Go to Full Review

John Serba Decider Jul 3, 2019

Peterloo is flawed but ambitious, visually impressive, immersive in its detail.

Go to Full Review

Wenlei Ma News.com.au Jun 21, 2019 3/5

There's an emotional distance to Peterloo that often makes it seem stagey.

Go to Full Review