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.

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

Still, it is a powerful, important part of anger-fueled history and is worth seeing.

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.