The Chartist movement was a popular campaign for universal suffrage, put down violently by the British government. In this documentary, actor Michael Sheen tells the story of the Chartists in South Wales, and also talks to local people about their sense of disengagement from their contemporary politicians. At the heart of the story, however, is a tale of industrial decline, and while Sheen's travelogue is not uninteresting, he fails to approach any solutions. An unsympathetic Tory MP says "what do you expect me to to about it?", but oddly, the other, more likeable, participants seem to subscribe to the same analysis - they don't expect anything better. We do have democracy now; why it has not been more effective in driving economic equity is an important question, but the only solutions offered here (promoting online petitions and giving the vote to sixteen year-olds) feel marginal at best.
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