Suffragette movie review & film summary (2015)

Bonham Carter, on the other hand, strolls into "Suffragette" and steals it from under Mulligan's nose. Edith is a pharmacist in a good marriage, who decides to break the laws that were passed without her consent or vote. She is physically fragile but emotionally indomitable. Mulligan's work seems unfocused and moist, in comparison. For example, in one scene, Lloyd George (Adrian Schiller) informs a gathering of women that the suffrage bill did not pass. The women feel betrayed (they thought he was an ally) and shouts of "Liar!" fill the air. Mulligan shouts "Liar" and there's nothing going on beneath her face. Her expression is flat, it leads nowhere. Meanwhile, next to her, Bonham Carter shimmers with rage and a practical tight-lipped determination. She is dogmatic and fearless, the embodiment of a "reed of steel."

Recently, "Stonewall" received criticism for showing the Stonewall Riots through the eyes of a fictional white boy, when those riots were instigated by mostly black and Latina protesters, people whose names are already in the history books. "Suffragette" has a similar problem. These real people are heroes. Let them star in their own stories. Compare to Warren Beatty's "Reds," which had a personal story, featuring the real-life people, and which also managed to show the divides in the American Left, the factions and the unpredictable alliances, without sacrificing emotion or depth. Or Ava DuVernay's "Selma," with its ideological clashes, fights over the best approach and portraits of the diverse real-life figures involved: students, women, preachers, laymen. Films like "Reds" or "Selma" have a willingness to tolerate complexity. Complexity is part of the struggle. There are moments in "Suffragette" that try (some women back out when bombs are discussed), but the focus on Maud, and her personal situation, diminishes the movement.

As with many movements, groups were excluded initially: working-class women, women of color, single women, and those who deviated from mainstream dogma. "Suffragette" ends with a roll of dates showing when various nations gave women the vote. In America, all women were enfranchised in 1920, but state laws and intimidation kept black women out of the voting booth in many areas until decades later. It's a glaring omission, and, again, shows an unwillingness to live in the rich complexity of reality.

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