On April 20th, the citizens of the United Kingdom will have reached the deadline for registering to exercise their right to vote. It's almost hard to believe that it's nearly been a century since that right was extended to women, after a long fought campaign by the Suffragettes to secure such a basic human right. That story will make its way to the big screen in Sarah Gavron's Suffragette, which we got a sneak peek at thanks to the video shown below.
The Independent revealed the UK trailer yesterday, which showcases an all star cast that boasts Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, and Brendan Gleeson, as well as Academy Awards darling Streep herself. While it's previously been reported that Streep's role is a supporting capacity at best, that's not stopped the studios from touting it in this very short ad. While she delivers the real narrative punch to Suffragette's first promotional glimpse, the atmosphere of the film is really what stars in the extremely short clip – as well as Mulligan, a fellow Academy Award nominee.
If anything, this first push for Suffragette's PR campaign can be summed up in one, extremely fitting, word: votes. While the film is being released in October in the US and UK, some might say that the promotional wheels started long before they should have. Only in this case, they'd be wrong, as the UK General Election will be taking place on May 7th and the deadline for registering to vote is, as previously mentioned, in four days. This is one of those instances where not only has history influenced a film, but the film in question is trying to influence history itself, thanks to the newly promoted hashtag #VotingMatters.
Though the Prime Minister isn't the only vote this film will obviously try to sway, as any historical biopic, or Meryl Streep flick, would by default court the golden guy that Hollywood looks up to. Considering the last time screenwriter Abi Morgan and star Meryl Streep worked together was 2011's Academy Award winning biopic The Iron Lady, who could blame the studio for embarking on an awards campaign and delaying the film's original January release date for something a little more noticeable come awards season. Those of you looking to get a leg up in your Oscar pools for 2016 may want to pencil in Meryl Streep for Best Supporting Actress, at least for the time being.
Suffragette is a biopic about history, that's trying to teach from history, while at the same time making its own little bit of movie history as it's the first film to shoot inside of the houses of Parliament. Up until now, the only way you'd really get to see the real Parliament is to either watch C-Span or to see it for yourself, without the possibility of taking photos from the inside. Clearly, the message of Suffragette is one that transcends typical regulations, so before you start plotting your next film to include a shootout in the actual House Of Lords, you might want to temper those expectations.
Suffragette fights for the votes of women on October 23rd in the U.S., and October 30th in the UK.
