Rev your BAFTA-appealing engines, the first teaser for “Suffragette” is here. Is this Oscar-bait from U.K. giants Pathé and Film4 Productions? It sure sounds like it. About the British women’s suffrage feminist movement of the late 19th and early 20th century, the drama boasts an all-star cast of British heavyweights. Carey Mulligan stars, and the movie also features Helena Bonham Carter, Meryl Streep, Ben Whishaw, Brendan Gleeson, Romola Garai, Anne-Marie Duff, and Samuel West.
The script was penned by Abi Morgan — “Shame,” “The Iron Lady” and the BBC miniseries “The Hour” — and while she’s never been nominated for an Oscar yet, she’s been awarded up to the hilt, including a Primetime Emmy win for "The Hour," and two BAFTA wins from six nominations. Here’s the official long-form synopsis.
SUFFRAGETTE is an intense drama that tracks the story of the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement as they fought for the right to vote, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal State. These women were not primarily from the genteel educated classes, they were working women who had seen peaceful protest achieve nothing. Radicalised and turning to violence as the only route to change, they were willing to lose everything in their fight for equality – their jobs, their homes, their children and their lives. The character of Maud, played by Carey Mulligan, is one such foot soldier. The story of her fight for dignity is both heart-breaking and inspirational.
Carey Mulligan plays Maud and Meryl Streep stars as noted British political activist Emmeline Pankhurst. “Suffragette” is directed by Sarah Gavron, and it’s her first film since “Brick Lane” in 2007. "Suffragette" already has a U.K. release date of October 30th, and will open in the U.S. on October 23rd. TIFF debut maybe? Watch the first teaser trailer below and weigh in with what you think.
