London, 1912. Maud Watts is a young woman from a modest home, a mother who has worked in a laundry since she was 12. When a co-worker introduces her to the Suffragette movement, she joins a world that believes violence is the only way to get the vote and equality for women. As Maud becomes more involved in the cause, she ends up sacrificing her home, her son and her very life.

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As Hollywood slowly wakes up to sexism, Suffragette includes a good portion of female ingredients: directed by Sarah Gavron, (Brick Lane), starring Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep, the movie will likely find a (small) place at next year’s Oscars, for more or less noble reasons. But although it has the best intentions and offers good performances, Suffragette never manages to avoid the pitfalls of the genre, quickly turning into your average three-hanky melodrama. It is an unremarkable movie, thanks mainly to bog-standard narration and a nausea-inducing Steadicam, but it still manages to be well structured, with an honest heart, and is carried by a very solid troupe of actresses.