Director: Sarah Gavron
By Alex Watson
A powerful central turn from the wonderfully consistent Carey Mulligan isn't enough to spark Sarah Gavron's Suffragette into life. A brutal recollection of a campaign where women literally put their bodies on the line to secure voting rights. The main problem is this film feels far more preachy and drawn out than neccessary. Mulligan's character is well realized and in places superbly underplayed, just a shame that writer Abi Morgan couldn't spread this to the other characters.
Maud Watts (Carey Mulligan) is a working class woman who has worked in the same laundry since age 12. Although she leads a contented life with husband Sonny (Ben Whishaw) her son George, Maud is still struggling to survive. The Suffragette campaign for women's rights has taken a more militant approach under Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep) and soon Maud's eyes open to the oppression that women like are facing. However, the more she becomes involved, the more her life begins to falls apart.
Suffragette is a well acted piece, there is no question there but it is also a rather narrow sighted picture by Gavron. All the men around Maud are shown as callous and sexist pigs that believe women don't deserve anything. Even Sonny eventually revealed as a rather fat headed chauvinist who believes her place is as his wife. At first, our heroine goes about her business without argument puts up with her lout boss Mr Taylor (Geoff Bell). When her friend Violet (Anne-Marie Duff) is unable to speak at Parliament, Maud takes her place and this introduction to activism provides her with a renewed purpose.
Although Maud is well written, writer Abi Morgan doesn't given nearly the same treatment to character such as educated chemist Edith (Helena Bonham Carter) or her abused yet hopeful friend Violet (Anne-Marie Duff). Both ring in a fine pair of supporting performances but their depth only goes skin deep. Emmeline Pankhurst is made out as a holy and idolized figure but aside from a brief and barnstorming Meryl Streep appearance, her relevance to the story is minimal. The law men such as cynical detective Steed (Brendan Gleeson) are not presented as the boo-hiss villains expected. Steed is one of the few men who believes in keeping the peace and perhaps importantly, preventing these women from doing something worse. The exchanges between Steed and Maud are one of main flickers of electricity.
Gavron does a decent job in presenting just how violent and risky this campaign became through time. Any numbers of times we see female activists attacked by police after venting their frustrations. Their actions such as bombing a government ministers empty home and the last drastic action of Emily Davison (Natalie Press) are neither praised or condemned. This picture works on a level where there is a level of repression that feels the need to break free. The third act is the one that slightly breaks the camel's back as the woman are imprisoned and attempt to go on hunger strike. Despite some hard-bitten force feeding, it just doesn't crackle like it should do.
Overall Suffragette is a gritty and otherwise heartfelt piece but sadly it doesn't feel as meaty as one would expect. I expect we will probably see this among the ten Best Picture nominees, but its lack of depth on its subject may have some voters going against it.
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