Suffragette

Where to start with the superlatives for Director Sarah Gavron’s wonderful film Suffragette is the question.

Let me start by saying that, in a time when Millennials here and abroad seem to be voting in to a lesser degree, it should be mandatory, at least for the women, to see this film and learn what their grandmothers and great-grandmothers went through to get the right to vote.

This brilliant story, crafted by Writer Abi Morgan is a composite of the lives of three real women brilliantly played by Cary Mulligan in an award-worthy performance.  Truly, if she isn’t nominated for an Academy Award, there is something terrible wrong in Tinseltown.
 

It starts with a spectacular panorama of London in 1912, when the woman’s movement for the vote moved from a peaceful, lobbying approach to an aggressive, sometimes violent, activism.  The scene and, indeed, the entire film is superbly crafted by Production Designer Alice Normington and is awesomely photographed by Cinematographer Eduard Grau, using digital cameras for the interiors, but 16 millimeter cameras for the exteriors to create a graininess that evoked the times.

Once the main location is established, the incredible Editor Barney Pilling cuts to Maud Watts, the character played by Cary Mulligan, who is working in a laundry factory.  But, Grau’s camera gets close up, moving us beyond the English background and indicating this woman could be American, Australian…any woman of the age.

And, that is the point of this story.  It is about women everywhere, who have fought for the right to vote.  And, it is a testament to the talent of female filmmakers, that the Producers, Director, Writer, Production Designer and Actors make this the quintessential “chicks’ flick.”  But, one the guys should see, as well.

There have been some good films this year, but few that are great.  Suffragette is one of the great ones and you would be doing a disservice to yourself not to see it. 

I give Suffragette a 5 out of 5.

Side Note: With her excellent performance, Helena Bonham Carter redeemed her family's honor, if not karma, since her great-grandfather was Lord Asquith, the Prime Minister of England at the time, who stood against the women's right to vote.