Iron Jawed Angels

"Iron Jawed Angels" is an HBO historical biopic/docudrama which turns the lens on Swank who delivers a sterling performance as Quaker, suffragist, and women's right activist Alice Paul during her campaign to secure the 19th Constitutional amendment. Director Katja von Garnier, who gave us the wonderfully hip girl-power cult flick "Bandits", takes on the daunting task of delivering an entertaining film about a somewhat dry, esoteric subject and a relatively unknown character (as history goes) and succeeds. Sometimes whimsical, sometimes intense, spritzed with humor and drama, and packed with zingers and maxims, "Iron Jawed Angels" may be a chick flick but no man can deny nor should fail to appreciate the grace and beauty it delivers. (B+)

"Iron Jawed Angels" follows the true life stories of Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and the other brave suffragettes who fought for a woman's right to be heard in the government. What a fabulous movie!! A topic that could have been boring was brought to life by director Katja von Garnier, as well as wonderful performances by Julia Ormond, Molly Parker, Vera Farmiga, and the amazing Hillary Swank, who brings chills with her powerful monologues. The soundtrack, despite not being from the 1910s or 1920s, is also a great listen.

An important piece of history brought to life that all women should see and appreciate.

This is an extremely good and entertaining depiction of the suffragette movement at the turn of the last century. All of the front line actresses give strong and believable performances, especially Frances O'Connor as Lucy Burns, Molly Parker as Mrs. Leighton, and Brooke Smith as Mable Norman. Hillary Swank is in the lead and is excellent as Alice Paul. I thought the cinematography was superb and gave a real sense of the period. the script does an excellent job of touching on some other collateral issues and makes them interesting without distracting from the focal point of the movie, e.g., the "conflict" between the younger women in the movement and the established old guard, the attitudes of th esuffragettes towards the men in their lives, and the issues of black women as part of the movement.

My pet peeve about real life historical movies is accuracy in lieu of Hollywood license and this one stays as true to facts as you can ask...the scenes from the women's prison are more than compelling and visually forceful. As opposed to some other reviewers, I had no problem at all with the soundtrack and can't imagine why anyone would let it detract from such a well made, acted, and shot movie, especially when wse get the privilege of seeing women as something other than sirens or ornaments for the male characters.

Whether you are a history buff or not, and regardless of how you feel about the issue of women voting (cough), you'll enjoy this one...watch it on cable or pick it up when you get the chance, it will be a nice addition to your movie collection.

The story of the women's suffrage movement in America during the period 1912- 1920 moves along crisply, and the acting is of high caliber. This is not your grandmother's civil rights history; it is contemporary, relevant and occasionally funny. These are powerful, intelligent women who launch a quixotic campaign

to win voting rights against the opposition of most men, including President

Wilson, and not a few women. Set against a historical background that includes Prohibition and the outbreak of World War I, the film doesn't shy away from

tough subjects -- the human rights abuses committed against the movement's

leaders are depicted graphically and would not be suitable for young viewers. The 2000 Presidential election was a wake-up call about the need to exercise

our constitutional rights. This film reminds us never to take those rights for granted.

It's almost impossible to imagine that less than 100 years ago, our country's government did not allow its female citizens to vote, and what's sadder is, the men in charge at that time would NOT have amended the Constitution to include women if it hadn't been for relentlessly driven, fiercely intelligent and humblingly courageous people like Alice Paul, who was depicted in this show as being deeply conflicted about how far she knew she would have to go to push the envelope, but she did it anyway because it simply had to be done. In this day and age, all young girls (who take so much for granted) should be made to watch this film as a brutal lesson in history. Kudos to all concerned, particularly Hilary Swank who couldn't have been any more compelling as the heroic Alice Paul.