Annual Top Films Lists

Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2018: #17. Mike Leigh’s Peterloo

Published on January 5, 2018

Peterloo

British auteur Mike Leigh should be all set with his long-gestating Peterloo in 2018. His latest serves as a striking departure from his recent output, which follows a famed 1819 massacre when the British government attacked 60,000 peaceful protestors and killed 15 people. A slew of Leigh’s regular ensemble players are along for the ride, joining Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Pearce Quigley and Bronwyn James in this mounting of a historical event which has particular political significance. This promises to be Leigh’s darkest output since 1993’s Naked.

Release Date/Prediction: Leigh is no stranger to Cannes, competing five times since 1993’s Naked (which won David Thewlis a Best Actor award) and last in 2014 with Mr. Turner (which won Timothy Spall a Best Actor award). After winning the Palme d’Or in 1996 for Secrets & Lies (for which Brenda Blethyn won Best Actress), Leigh has competed in Venice (in 1999 with Topsy-Turvy, and in 2004 with Vera Drake, which won the Golden Lion), as well as Berlin (2008’s Happy-Go-Lucky). Peterloo is tipped for a Cannes premiere should it be completed in time—with set-photos unveiled in early November, it would appear to be.

Nicholas Bell

Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2021: France (Bruno Dumont), Passing (Rebecca Hall) and Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.