This year’s opening film at the BFI London Film Festival, SUFFRAGETTE, celebrates the strength of ordinary women fighting with extraordinary bravery the battle against a chauvinistic system that deprived them of any basic human right.

SUFFRAGETTE is the story of the first violent protests organised by working women in London during 1912. The protagonist is Maud Watts, a fictional character, who has worked at the laundry factory since she was 11 years old. For her whole life she always turned a blind eye to the abuses happening around her. However, after been convinced by one of her colleagues to attend a testimony at the parliament to support the plea for the women’s right to vote, Maud finds herself involved in the Feminist Movement guided by Mrs Pankhurst, a noblewoman in hiding because of her subversive statements.

As the director Sarah Gavron stated in the press conference at the London Film Festival, SUFFRAGETTE is not Mrs Pankhurst’s biography. Instead of focusing on her character, the screenwriter Abi Morgan decided to switch the attention to the underprivileged women who joined her fight against the government. The most important of a movie like this is to tell a compelling story that allows the audience to empathise with the characters. For this purpose, Eduard Grau’s cinematography focuses on the small details to make the women’s rage and resolution to fight louder and stronger across the screen. The camera doesn’t shy away from violent and strong scenes, but, instead shows them in their entirety, zooming in on small elements to make the point more poignant. The many close ups on the faces of the women involved in the battle are essential to show their resolution and will to win their right to vote. Even the dark and gray colors of the city make the purple, green and white flags of the Suffragettes stand out.

In the same terms, an almost entirely female cast gives a stellar interpretation of each woman that fought for her rights. Carey Mulligan’s performance expresses Maud’s vulnerability as well as her strength. The decision to sacrifice her relationship with her son in order to fight for her rights is a representation of what many women had to go through during their battle against injustice. Helena Bonham Carter’s character was the pillar of the working women’s movement portrayed in SUFFRAGETTE. Edith Ellyn’s perseverance and bravery were the fuel that kept the flame of revolution alive for all the other women involved. However, the turning point of the movie was Mrs. Pankhurst’s five minutes speech in front of the crowd. Meryl Streep appeared on the screen for just a cameo, but her performance was strong and powerful. She became Mrs. Pankhurst and gave the strength necessary for all the women to keep on fighting for the cause. It is her famous speech and the constant references to her figures throughout the movie, that motivates Maud to choose to fight for her rights. Her role serves the purpose to highlight how an idea shared by many can be powerful enough to ignite a protest.

All the male characters in the movie have a supporting role and they portray the different kind of men who, during that time, supported or fought against feminism. Ben Whishaw plays the part of Maud’s husband who doesn’t support his wife. He is not violent as many other men in the film, but he keeps Maud away from her son and throws her out of their home. Brendan Gleeson represents the authorities. By enforcing the law, he tries to stop the chaos caused by the protests. He shows compassion, but he also needs to follow orders, depicting the conflict lived by many men at that time. Edith Ellyn’s husband instead portrays the small category of men who showed their support to the women cause by taking their side in this devastating fight.

Gavron’s SUFFRAGETTE is a movie that gives a new voice to an important historical event and at the same time leaves space to reflect on women’s modern situation. It is a film that reminds the audience that these extraordinary women lost their lives in order to achieve the rights that nowadays are almost taken for granted.

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