Suffragette

WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
Click here to show this review. World history is not so much about the kings and queens and generals and wars - rather it is about the average person fighting for his/her dignity and individual rights of freedom and empowerment. In 1912 women were still under the yoke of Victorian attitudes and laws; women did not have the right to own property, the right to vote; they were little more than chattels in most cases. Only if a woman was well-born and a member of the upper classes was she likely to be nominally well treated. Although the suffragette movement was essentially pursuing an abstraction (the right to vote), which would not necessarily improve social conditions immediately, it would constitute a step in the right direction. The casting of Carey Mulligan as an everywoman named Maude is an inspired way of telling the story. There are shocking scenes including an act of martyrdom and a violent clash with police. It was startling to witness the incident involving a 110 pound woman thrown to the cobblestones by a 200 pound club-wielding bobbie in a funny Keystone Kops hat. So much for the notion of British "fair-play." These scenes do ignite strong feelings but there are also those scenes of the obvious eg. the sadistic, sexist activities of a brutal and ugly foreman ending in a wish-fulfilling action by Maude. This is not mainly an ensemble piece and the recounting of Maude's series of personal misfortunes (just one-thing-after-another) is not unexpected. This is a very good film about the pursuit of human rights, but for some reason, does not quite achieve greatness.