My Review of Suffragette

There are some movies that seem to stick with us, long after we watch them.  Suffragette is surely one of those movies.  As we in the United States are consumed with our current presidential election, including not one, but two female candidates, it is hard to even fathom that less than 100 years ago women did not have the right to vote in this country.  

This movie is a very personal look at the history of the women’s suffrage movement in England in the early 20^th century through the story of a working wife and mother named Maud Watts, brilliantly portrayed by Carey Mulligan.  Maud reluctantly joins a group of woman who are fighting for equality and the right to vote.  The incredible Meryl Streep plays a small but pivotal role as Emmeline Pankhurst, a political activist who encourages the movement, and inspires Maud to keep fighting.  Maud is subject to humiliation, abuse and the loss of her child, but this only seems to make her more determined to fight on.  The cast was brilliant and I have no doubt that Suffragette will be included in the list of movies being discussed for awards. 

I found this movie gripping and emotional, and incredibly painful to watch.  It is hard to see the struggle that women went through in their fight for the vote, only to realize that so many women today don’t even bother to vote. 

I highly recommend Suffragette, a powerful look at our history.