"Suffragette" is a British 105-minute movie that was initially considered one of the big players during awards season, but came surprisingly short in pretty much all areas. And that includes Carey Mulligan playing the lead character, a young woman who gets sucked in by England's women's movement in the early 20th century. It is all about getting the right to vote. Helena Bonham Carter plays one of the major supporting players and Meryl Streep appears in one scene during which she gives a speech to the women listening to her. The director is Sarah Gavron and maybe she is not yet good enough to deal with such a star-studded cast as the outcome was a bit underwhelming given the material she had in terms of the cast.
The script comes from Emmy winner Abi Morgan, who has also written "Shame" and "The Iron Lady" and here I see room for improvement as well. This is without a doubt a really important story, but somehow they did not really manage to bring true overwhelming emotion to the audience. Of course, the times were dark (World War 1) and most of the action takes place in British industrial cities, so I am not saying this should be an uplifting movie of any kind because it would not have worked as such. But it should have done a better job in letting us feel the injustice that the characters complain about. Brendan Gleeson has one or two good moments, but overall he cannot make this a great watch either. Quite a shame as I really like him and Mulligan, so I hoped this could have been better. Of course, I am not saying this is a weak film, not at all, but I personally believe there was potential in this story for a lot more than they actually delivered. Still I give it a cautious thumbs-up. Recommended.
The script comes from Emmy winner Abi Morgan, who has also written "Shame" and "The Iron Lady" and here I see room for improvement as well. This is without a doubt a really important story, but somehow they did not really manage to bring true overwhelming emotion to the audience. Of course, the times were dark (World War 1) and most of the action takes place in British industrial cities, so I am not saying this should be an uplifting movie of any kind because it would not have worked as such. But it should have done a better job in letting us feel the injustice that the characters complain about. Brendan Gleeson has one or two good moments, but overall he cannot make this a great watch either. Quite a shame as I really like him and Mulligan, so I hoped this could have been better. Of course, I am not saying this is a weak film, not at all, but I personally believe there was potential in this story for a lot more than they actually delivered. Still I give it a cautious thumbs-up. Recommended.