Suffragette (2015)- BFI London Film Festival 2015

Review

106min

Genre:     Fact-based, Drama

Director:  Sarah Gavron

Cast:       Carey Mulligan, Anne-Marie Duff, Helena Bonham Carter…more

Writer:    Abi Morgan

Carey Mulligan stars as a young working-class wife and mother in early 20th century Britain whose life is thrown into turmoil when she gets caught up in the Suffragette movement for women’s rights. As her commitment to the cause increases, she’ll have to sacrifice everything in the fight for equality in this semi-biographical period drama from director Sarah Gavron.

In what some are dubbing this year’s ‘Selma’ (even though Selma came out this year), the struggles for equality of Britain’s women are vividly brought to life through a combination of strong performances, superb production designs and a tough unflinching sensibility.

Carey Mulligan delivers a powerful but understated performance that doesn’t descend into melodrama, starring as fictional character “Maude” through whom the audience witnesses a composite of the injustices suffered by women in a patriarchal society led by a government that ignored and subverted their efforts. “Maude” is surrounded by characters based on the real women of the movement who help to steer her towards full “Suffragettedom” and all the subversive and illegal tactics which that entailed, while paying a heavy price for a fight she could never give up.

‘Suffragette’ is certainly a rabble-rousing drama that takes full advantage of the current “women’s empowerment” movement across Western culture, but it’s also a tribute to those “foot soldiers” who dared to act and whose great sacrifice contributed to the huge (and often forgotten) strides in gender equality we’ve made since.

Ultimately the accomplished performances and striking look of ‘Suffragette’ are let down by the narrative, the structure is familiar and predictable and often feels like a well-produced TV drama. By choosing to focus an amalgam of hardships on one fictional lead character, ‘Suffragette’ as the name suggests ends up being a drama, albeit an effective one, about one character rather than the whole movement. We’re deprived of the greater context of “Suffrage”, which gradually led to the changing of archaic laws and the granting of full voting rights for women, not to mention the many unrelated developments that led to equality for all, including the lower classes and ethnic minorities who suffered more than anyone.

The Bottom Line…

Although let down by a faltering narrative and questionable historical context, ‘Suffragette’ is nevertheless an effective and culturally relevant drama that eulogizes the sacrifice of those who laid the groundwork for gender equality, and a tribute to those who push against oppression whatever the cost.

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Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Selma (2015)

David Oyelowo stars as Martin Luther King Jr. in a particular period of the American Civil Rights movement where a socio-political struggle for equal voting rights in the south led to the legendary Alabama march, from Selma to the state capital Montgomery.

Directed by Ava DuVernay and starring David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo and Tom Wilkinson among others.

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