In Great Britain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, women who campaigned for the right for women to vote were labelled ‘Suffragettes’, as they advocated for female suffrage.

They included members of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), militant extremists prepared to use violence to achieve their aims. Sarah Gavron’s (Brick Lane) film Suffragette covers the period from 1912, following the activities of a small group of women who were the foot soldiers of the movement, prepared to throw bricks and bombs in the war for their rights. They were also railing against the subjugation that was imposed upon them in their homes, where their husbands had full authority over them, and in their workplaces, where they were poorly treated and poorly paid. The protests by these brave souls saw many of them thrown in jail, beaten by the police and fired from their jobs - jobs which were often undertaken in dangerous conditions and which provided environments for their sexual molestation.

Using fictional characters but based on real facts, Abi Morgan’s (The Iron Lady / Shame) script takes its audience on a ride through this dark period of history and it’s a pretty good portrayal of what it must have been like. Strangely though, even though the film is written and directed by women and depicts appalling treatment of the sisterhood, it somehow doesn’t make as much of an impact as it should. Is this because women (and being one I can say this) are less aggressive than men, even when they are confronted with such dreadful prejudice? It is an interesting thought because most men would have reacted quite differently if treated in such a way.

We follow the fight through the journey of Maud Watts (Carey Mulligan - The Great Gatsby), a young woman who has worked in the same laundry for years and gets caught up in the movement through a mixture of curiosity and loyalty when, by default, she speaks up for the rights of women at a parliamentary inquiry. This leads to clandestine meetings in the backroom of a pharmacy when she joins a group of Suffragettes headed by the pharmacist’s wife, Edith Ellyn (Helena Bonham Parker - Cinderella). This commitment to her newly formed political beliefs puts her in the firing line of the police and she is subsequently hounded by a Special Branch detective, Inspector Arthur Steed (Brendan Gleeson - In The Heart Of The Sea). Maud also loses her home and access to her young son when her husband Sonny (Ben Whishaw - Spectre) becomes ashamed of her involvement in the movement. These scenes between the couple are emotionally harrowing.

The performances are convincing and Mulligan carries off her lead role with conviction. Surprisingly Meryl Streep (August: Osage County) is only on-screen for a few minutes but she gives a rousing speech as the leader of the Suffragettes, Emmeline Pankhurst. It’s not unknown for Ms. Streep to garner an Oscar nomination for a fleeting performance, but here she somehow lacks the grittiness needed to push her role up to that exalted level. Technically the film is faultless, especially Alice Normington’s (Nowhere Boy) production design, Jonathan Houlding and Choi Ho Man’s art direction and Jane Petrie’s costume design.

It’s interesting to note that some of the scenes were shot in the Houses of Parliament and these and the other locations evoke the period accurately. If you are unaware of this well-known but frequently ignored piece of history, Suffragette is a believable depiction of the struggle, however it may be worth reading up on the period to really appreciate the impact it had on women. In this depiction, it is left up to the ones who were on the frontlines on the streets and in the workplaces to tell the story of the brutal fight for equal rights and yet somehow you don’t leave the theatre feeling as if you have been through the fight yourself – and you should!

// SALT

Previewed at Sony Theatre, Sydney on 16 November 2015