The struggle for equal rights for all has been, and in many ways, continues to be, a hard fought battle. Directed by Sarah Gavron and written by Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady, Shame) Suffragette vividly recreates the significant sacrifices made by women to earn the right to vote. Although this film tells the story of suffrage in the UK during the early 20th century, its message should resonate with voters in any representative democracy.

A mix of historical fact and fiction, Maud Watts (Carey Mulligan) is a 24-year-old wife and mother from London’s East End, who has spent most of her life as a laundress. She works long, hot hours, and is forced to deal with a boss who sees his employees as his personal playthings. Nonetheless, Maud has always toed the line, and is generally put off by the window smashing tactics of the Suffragettes.

Window shopping in a posh neighborhood, Maud is surprised to find friend and co-worker Violet Miller (Anne-Marie Duff) among the crowd of women throwing stones, bottles, and breaking windows, yelling “Votes for women!” Urged on by Violet, Maud reluctantly attends her first suffrage meeting; her eyes are opened as she sees the opportunity to take control of her own life. It’s a risk for Maud to take up the cause, women are being beaten in the streets, and thrown in jail and fired from their jobs for demanding the right to vote. Husbands have full authority over their wives, and aside from the rare exception, wives who joined the movement were faced with being left destitute and alone. When Maud attends a hearing at parliament, she’s compelled to give testimony when Violet turns up badly beaten. Soon enough, Maud is among those brick throwing militants risking it all.

Embarrassed by her actions and frequent arrests, Maud’s husband (Ben Whishaw) eventually throws her out and forbids her to see their son. While all of this is meant to show how little legal power women actually had, it’s one of the film’s weakest plots because it’d handled so melodramatically.

The political fight, particularly when it touches on historical events, is handled much better than anything in Maud’s personal life. Suffragette is riveting when Maud meets suffrage leader Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep, in a cameo) and hears her speak. She takes part in the bombing of future Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s house. And in the film’s climax, she is present at the fateful events of the 1913 Epsom Derby. Then there’s the scenes of the woman serving sentences in prison. In one particularly jarring scene, after a hunger strike, they are force fed in a surprisingly graphic way. It’s the dark, grungy scenes like this that drive home just how difficult the suffragette movement was.

The cast is universally excellent. Mulligan begins the film as a victim of her difficult life, too timid to speak out of turn. Gradually, she gains enough confidence to speak out about various injustices. Helena Bonham Carter, who in real life is the great-granddaughter of suffrage opposing Prime Minister Asquith, is terrific as the dedicated group leader quick to take up the more violent side of the movement. Though Meryl Streep’s part amounts to little more than a cameo, she makes her presence felt, albeit briefly. Unfortunately, Abi Morgan’s screenplay underuses much of the talent on hand, underselling the gravity of Maud’s transformation from quiet wife and mother to full-fledged activist. While we see the women participating in violent acts, there’s no real examination of what led to it. We also get no sense of the victory that would be achieved years later. The only thing Morgan and director Sarah Gavron make clear is that these women are sympathetic figures.

Presented in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio, this transfer from Universal does a fine job of capturing the dark, drab look of things. The image is clean and clear throughout, with no apparent anomalies.

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA Audio is clean, and the thick cockney accents are fairly easy to understand.

English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles are included.

The following extras are available:

  • Audio Commentary with Director Sarah Gavron and Screenwriter Abi Morgan: the two discuss casting, scene construction, the history behind the movie, characters, and more.
  • Inside Suffragette (HD, 10:31) An exploration of the film’s historical accuracy and fictional creations, characters, casting, costumes, shooting locations, and the film’s relevancy today.
  • Suffragette: Looking Back, Looking Forward (HD, 7:10) Cast and crew offer discuss real historical events depicted in the film and the story’s current relevancy.
  • Making the VFX for Suffragette (HD, 5:07) Director Sarah Gavron, Production Designer Alice Normington, and Visual Effects Supervisor Simon Hughes provide narration over various clips as they discuss digitally enhancing in several scenes.
  • UV/iTunes Digital Copy.