Suffragette Review [London Film Festival 2015]

Less than 100 years after all adult women in the UK were finally granted the vote, a film about the struggle to gain that basic democratic right emerges. With a dream team of female talent in front of and behind the camera, Sarah Gavron's Suffragette is a gripping start, but it becomes clear that there is far more of this true story of tremendous sacrifice left to be told.

Suffragette makes the interesting decision to follow fictional character Maud Watts (Carey Mulligan) from washer woman and poverty-stricken working mother to militant suffragette engaged in escalating actions against the government. To the detriment of her own family life, she joins Edith Ellyn’s (Helena Bonham Carter) group of East London women who are spurred on by the currently in-hiding Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep). As Inspector Steed (Brendon Gleeson) keeps a close eye on the women, their civil disobedience becomes more volatile and threatens to land them all in prison.

To a young audience raised in a world increasingly full of strong women who may never have even questioned their right to vote, the suffragette's struggle looks at once completely ludicrous, and at the same time teeth-grindingly infuriating. How dare men decide that women didn't deserve the vote? It’s an unimaginable situation that seems preposterous, but is still sadly relevant. The closing crawl of the film indicates the year that women got the vote in other countries of the world, and unbelievably the UK was far from the most recent.

Suffragette sits neatly alongside 12 Years a Slave as a document of the Western world's recent history where depressing barbarity was carried out in the name of old white men who were desperate to never let any power slip from their hands. The working class washer women in Suffragette are little more than slaves, being paid far less and working longer hours than their male counterparts. Those that speak out against the unfairness of the system are beaten, threatened, humiliated, ridiculed and made to feel ashamed.

And this is where the true tragedy of Suffragette lies. Because while it covers the famous incident involving Emily Davison's brave sacrifice involving the King's horse, it's really the story of ordinary women engaged in everyday action. Even Streep's Pankhurst only appears for a single scene, though her inspiration and influence is felt throughout. Maud sacrifices so much for the cause, including her beloved son and her job, and it is this tension between doing what she wants (to see her son) and what she must do (make the world a better place for future generations of women) that is so heart-wrenching.

Suffragette feels just as relevant today as it would have been in 1912. Women are abused, belittled and laughed at by men. But they also face the impossibly difficult choice of often wanting to manage a family with a desire to do something potentially more fulfilling outside of the home. It's a choice which Suffragette pointedly shows a single father tragically failing to consider. It also deals with the notion of what is basically terrorist action, as the women have become fed up with not being listened to, and decide on a policy of non-violent but destructive disobedience. In its mentions of police surveillance and brutality, and the media's tendency to ridicule those who threaten the status quo, Suffragette constantly reminds of none-more-contemporary issues.

For a period drama, Suffragette feels righteous and urgent in its fury. The performances are uniformly excellent, particularly Mulligan and Anne-Marie Duff, while Gavron's direction is best when highlighting the horrors of hard labour in the laundry and more so, the barbarity of the women's treatment during prison stints. It’s a shame not to learn more about Emily Davison as she plays such a fundamental role in the climax, but Suffragette's focus on the fictional Maud makes for an incredibly emotive journey.

Suffragette is a vital film, but feels like a strong start, rather than the definitive suffragette movie. More films on this movement would be most welcome, and for those dumb enough to think feminism is a dirty word; this is a timely reminder of its fundamental potential.

Watch the trailer:

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The Lobster Review and Trailer (Cannes 2015)

Being single might be a nightmare for some, but spare a thought for poor Colin Farrell, who in The Lobster plays a man running out of time to find a mate, or else he will be turned into the titular sea creature. The Lobster takes the viewer to an odd alternate reality where the social pressure to escape a solitary existence is exaggerated by the powers that be, who keep strict controls on the single population.

David (Colin Farrell) is the paunchy, unlucky-in-love man whose previous relationship lasted almost twelve years, but is now booked in to a hotel where singles are forced to either pair up for life, or they will be transformed into an animal of their choice. David chooses to become a lobster but on arrival at the hotel, is given matching suits with the other male members, and 45 days to find a female partner. Accompanied by his brother, who was unsuccessful in his quest for love and so is now a dog, David meets fellow single men Robert (John C. Reilly) and John (Ben Whishaw) and begins the search for his perfect match. The singles are kept segregated from those that have formed into blossoming couples and are attempting to make a go of relationships. If the stress of finding a lover wasn’t enough, the singles are forced to hunt for ‘loners’ who have opted out of ordinary society and now live a wild existence in nearby woods. Catch one of these socially unacceptable loners and the singletons buy themselves extra days to stay in the hotel.

Loved this film! Read the rest of my review of The Lobster from Cannes 2015 over at Tastic Film.  

Watch the trailer below:

Bond 24 Titled Spectre and gets a Teaser Poster

Big things are about to happen in the world of Bond 24 so get watching below:

Sam Mendes calls the 007 stage ‘The stage where budgets go to die’

The title will be: Spectre

7 month shoot across the globe.

Sam Mendes mentioned the key new additions to his crew:

Editor: Lee Smith

Cinematographer: Hoyt van Hotema (Interstellar)

Mendes then unveiled the new Aston Martin DB10

Before he introduced his returning cast:

Rory Kinnear as Tanner

Ben Whishaw as Q

Naomie Harris as Moneypenny

The 'extraordinary' Ralph Fiennes as M

and Daniel Craig back as Bond

As for new cast members, it's a tantalising bunch: 

Andrew Scott as Denby

David Bautista as Hinks

Monica Belluci

Lea Seydoux as Madeline Swann

Christoph Waltz

And here is the teaser poster:

 

CLOUD ATLAS will blow your mind

Cloud Atlas is finally out in the UK today after a long delay since it was released in the US last October. Here is my review of the epic film adaptation of David Mitchell’s best selling novel starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry.

Six stories over six very different time periods. All put together these stories suggest the interconnectedness of human life both throughout history and across races, genders and boundaries of power and exploitation. Sounds pretentious? Well it should be but Cloud Atlas smashes through boundaries to become one of the biggest and best epics of the century so far.

From the 19th century to the distant post-apocalyptic future, humans appear bound to both each other and to making recurring mistakes, but also to form bonds of kindness and cruelty that can create ripples of consequences through history.

In 1849, a doctor helps an African slave escape aboard a ship; in 1936, a young composer is exploited by his older mentor; in 1973, a journalist comes under threat while trying to expose the dangers of a San Francisco nuclear power plant; in 2012, an editor tries to escape from a nursing home. Then in the future of 2144, a clone-slave in Neo Seoul escapes captivity to reveal the disturbing truth of her society; and finally in a post-apocalyptic future, the survival of civilization on a distant planet is threatened. Somehow these are all connected.

Slavery is present in numerous forms, love blooms in unlikely places and the human capacity for good and evil is explored across time and space. From the slave girls of Neo Seoul to the African slaves of days gone by, exploitation is everywhere, the ability of power to corrupt and for the oppressed to rise up is ever present.

Directors the Wachowski siblings (The Matrix) and Tom Tykwer (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) pull off the impossible, transforming a book incredibly difficult to adapt into a visually stunning and brilliantly crafted piece of cinema. Some of the parallels and similiarities between the stories are made more obvious here than in the book and it makes for a more streamlined and coherent retelling, easier to follow and promoting themes to the forefront of viewers’ minds.

The choice to have actors taking on a multiplicity of roles is bold and brilliant. Though there are missteps (Tom Hanks' Irish gangster is a notable misfire), the idea that any actor can play any role, whether it be Black, White, Asian, male or female is central to the films thesis and despite the make up failing to hide the true ethnicities of the characters, the point is loud and clearly recieved. We are all the same underneath these labels we have given each other. Some have called it tasteless, but it is a brave and noble idea that on the whole succeeds.

Tom Hanks excels in some roles but dissapoints in others. Ben Whishaw emerges as a stand out, mainly as the young composer, but the entire cast admirably tackle their many roles, sometimes even completely disappearing under the layers of make up. Hugh Grant and Hugo Weaving also make the most of sinister characters, making memorable villains out of minor roles in a number of the stories.

Cloud Atlas is incredibly ambitious, an impossible adaptation that manages to capture the essence of the book and improve it with a streamlined and smart narrative structure. The directors have created breathtaking, visually astounding different worlds, taken a potentially pretentious idea and visualised it on a grand scale, both entertaining and intellectually stimulating.

There may be flaws and it may test some viewers’ patience but Cloud Atlas is an emotional and unforgettable piece of epic cinema.

Rating 4/5

Cloud Atlas is released in the UK on Friday 22nd February 2013. Watch the extended trailer below but be warned, it's nearly as long as the film!