Suffragette

Set in 1912, this is the story of a housewife and laundry worker who becomes involved in the activities of the Suffragette movement.  Something of an accidental activist, Maud Watts (Carey Mulligan) learns lessons she cannot unlearn and her experiences build within her a deep commitment to the suffragist cause.  This will bring her personal hardship, a broken family and violent clashes with the authorities, all borne by her increasing belief in the rightness of her actions.

Mulligan is superb as the central character, bringing emotion, passion and gritty conviction to the role, and she more than makes up for any quibbles there might be about script or plot.  In many ways the two most interesting personas are the classic archetypes of revolution and the state.  Helena Bonham Carter can sometimes be a disruptive screen presence, but here her Edith Ellyn is every inch the ideologically driven organiser that every movement needs.  While Brendan Gleeson is the policeman, the state functionary who views his purpose in life being to uphold the law, irrespective of the morality involved.  Both take positions that cannot admit any alternatives, both carry the scent of the fanatic.

Those quibbles?  The Meryl Streep cameo added little to the storyline and loudly proclaimed "We need a star name to sell this in the US".  Having Maud as such an active participant in the death of the Suffragettes' most renowned martyr stretched credulity a bit too far.  And, a very personal viewpoint this, whilst I admired the depiction of the forced feeding so many women were subjected to, it seemed a shame not squeeze in a mention of the most desperate act of a desperate government, the notorious Cat and Mouse Act.

Cinematically this is largely a world of dark interiors and grimy streets, the the occasional insight into the opulence of the upper classes.  Underneath this dull surface a few striking images pop up from time to time, adding the occasional artistic flourish.

It's hard to produce a film that provides mainstream entertainment and still delivers a deeply relevant social message, but Suffragette pulls it off.  Largely due to the admirable Mulligan.  If the story fails to bring out both anger and empathy in you then you might need to recognise that you may be part of the problem.  Because this film, in particular the subtlety of the ending, is a reminder that the struggles for women's rights did not end with the Pankhursts.  If you know anyone who says that feminism isn't needed any more, or who thinks voting is a waste of time, get them to a screening of Suffragette.  Force fed or otherwise....