Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Despite its historical significance, Iron Jawed Angels misses the mark with its cheesy music, tedious romance plot and by-the-book acting. Some of the dramatic sequences--such as the egg yolk scene--make this film worthwhile, but many of the scenes lack the life and vigor that more experienced actors would easily provide. Huston gives by far the best performance, followed by Martindale. Swank was decent for the role of Alice Paul, but in my opinion was miscast. The romance between Paul and a young man is dull and predictable. Likewise, the opening of the film is hideously boring, as Paul and her friend playfully joke about the most frivolous subjects. Probably the worst aspect of this movie was the music, which resembled today's pop music beats and did not fit the time period at all, thus detracting from the authenticity of the film's sets. Although it has moments of good acting and thought-provoking dialogue, Iron Jawed Angels is weakly-constructed in many ways and probably not worth your time.bitesizemoviereview.blogspot.com

I ordered the DVD because of Julia Ormond's role. She only appeared in about 5 minutes of the film. I was disappointed her appearance was so brief. She seems to become more lovely, the older she gets.I must say that Hillary Swank delivered a very strong performance. She was well cast for this role. You could tell that women predominated in writing the film and a woman directed it as well.I did not feel that the unsuccessful romance depicted here was a distraction. The Ben Weissman character was really getting to the lead character, Alice Paul. You could see her political will was starting to buckle under the force of her attraction to Ben and his motherless son. It was perhaps a little too graphic how Alice relieved her sexual tension in the bathtub. At any rate, Alice subdued her softer side under her iron will. Her own needs would always take second place to her political cause.The scene where the psychiatrist was interviewing Alice in prison was perhaps the most powerful scene in the film. Here was a woman greatly weakened by starvation forced to contend with a powerful mind sent to undermine her efforts by declaring her insane. Every word was taken down to find a pretext to belittle her moral claim to suffrage. She was able to summon the words that compelled this man to reject the powerful inducements to destroy her. Hillary Swank delivered an enormously powerful performance here. She actually appeared near death in these scenes.Reading some of the other comments here made me realize how distorted feminist doctrine has made history. Of course women are entitled to vote. What has been lost is the understanding of the progression of understanding in Western Civilization that has brought us to our present position.In the beginning, might ruled everything. All privilege was obtained by being the most powerful man or being useful enough to him to be accorded certain limited considerations. Judaism and even more emphatically Christianity changed all that. The Golden Rule proclaimed that our neighbor was deserving of our regard. Women were accorded a place of respect and honor in Christian doctrine. This was truly revolutionary in historical terms.The history of Western Civilization is the account of the continued expansion of the rights of man, or to be P.C., humanity. First the nobles in England forced the king to acknowledge their rights by signing the Magna Carta. Then the cities forced the king to recognize their rights under law. Then the merchant class gradually gained rights because they were needed to finance the king's armies and lifestyle. Then rights gradually extended to property owners, especially in the U.S. Blacks in the U.S. gained rights gradually as slavery was abolished first in the North and, after the Civil War, in the South. Women were not excluded from this process. The rights of women continually expanded over these centuries.The basic point here is that, for the most point, rights were not gained by force. Moral arguments and peaceful protest that appealed to the Christian Conscience gained the day. Many of the women in this film were college graduates. This education gave them the understanding of the possibilities and potentials that their advancement could offer. These women were enormously privileged by the standards of the day.The tide turned when details of the horrible injustices inflicted on these women inflamed the public opinion to the point where Sufferage became politically necessary. The same process was at work 60 years later when the same means gained Blacks better access to civil rights.Time constraints greatly compressed this important work. It would have been better served by a mini-series that could have explored the topic in greater depth. Still, kudos to HBO for being willing to tackle this difficult subject. Perhaps a more appealing title could have enhanced the success of this film.

We watched this movie in a high school history class. I watched it again last night after being in several college history classes and I changed my opinion of the movie. Don't get me wrong, the movie makes you really respect women that were willing for a right that they deserved in the first place. The thing I have a problem with is that the movie makes it seem that Alice Paul had a hell of a lot to do with the 19th amendment. No doubt she was one of the main suffragist leaders, but America hated her because she picketed a war-time president. If anything, Alice Paul made Carrie Chapman Catt and the National American Women's Suffrage Association look less radical and gave them more credibility. I don't believe that Alice Paul was the real hero and the movie downplays Carrie Chapman Catt's role in the women's suffrage movement.

Iron Jawed Angels is a true story based on the life of radical suffragists who played a key role in winning the federal constitutional amendment that guaranteed women the right to vote. The film focuses on the years between 1912 and 1920, the last eight in a seventy-two year fight for women to claim the right to vote. Central to the story is Alice Stokes Paul (Hilary Swank,) feminist, suffragist and gifted political strategist, and her co-leader, Lucy Burns (Frances O'Connor.) The story of Paul and Burns, and the group of young, radical women who dedicate their lives to securing women the right to vote is, until now, one of the great-untold American stories of the century. I was moved by the drive of these brave women, inspired by their courage in the face of hatred and cruelty, compelled to join the ranks of these dauntless women whose influence helped give us the right to have a voice in our own government. Iron Jawed Angels is an exceptional film because it tells an important story in a fresh, engaging way. Iron Jawed Angels has all of the elements of the best human drama: loyalty, disagreements, violence, personal sacrifice, and yes, triumph. It faithfully recreates the historical events that led to the ratification of the Nineteenth Constitutional Amendment, such as the memorable 1913 Suffrage Parade that was held during President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration, the nonviolent protest at the gates of the White House, arrests on trumped up charges that led to incarceration in a horrific work camp, and the violent force-feedings in response to the imprisoned suffragist's hunger strike. Iron Jawed Angels is a film that delivers a message with well-written story lines, beautiful cinematography and intelligent, witty characterization. The acting in Iron Jawed Angels is superb. Hilary Swank gives a stunning, powerful performance as Alice Paul, the highly educated, brilliant political strategist with a Quaker background and fiery tongue. Frances O'Connor, who holds her ground next to the indomitable Alice, plays her cohort, Lucy Burns, equally well. The beautiful and articulate lawyer, Inez Milholland, played by Julia Ormond, delivers one of the most memorable scenes in the movie when she grandly leads the 1913 parade riding a regal white horse, holding herself with pride and dignity, wearing a resplendent white robe and magnificent angel wings suitably used to symbolize justice and liberty. Anjelica Huston gives a phenomenal performance as the politically conservative, high-powered Carrie Chapman Catt; Huston won the 2004 Golden Globe Award as Best Actress for a Supporting Role in a TV Movie for her role. Catt was the leader of the "old guard," who disliked Paul and Burns' radical notions and methods. Even though the newcomers were initially half-heartedly allowed to participate in the long-standing National American Women's Suffrage Association, eventually they were forced out on their own. They then formed their own political platform, the National Women's Party. One of the triumphs of the film is how Catt rises above her dislike for Paul, wields her political clout and influences the fate of the imprisoned suffragists. As allies, they work together to defeat their opponents and win the right to vote. Contrary to several writers who have criticized the mixture of modern and period music in this film, I enjoyed the musical soundtrack to this film. The majestic sound of the music and striking beats combined with lyrical vocals in Lauryn Hill's "Everything is Everything" track perfectly complemented the parade scene. Hill's lyrics uncannily replicate the film's theme; Hill herself is an outspoken advocate working for social justice in our own time; her music and reputation add credibility to the inherent message of the film. I didn't know the remarkable story behind the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment before I viewed "Iron Jawed Angels." The determined women who challenged the conventional thinking of the time inspired me. I easily identified with the complex, historical figures of the struggle behind the fight to win women's right to vote; I wanted to join their movement; I wanted to have a part in their crusade. The movie so moved me that I wanted to invite my sister and all of my women friends to share this amazing story with me, so that they, too, could experience the message behind the movie: no matter how entrenched or static a situation is, things can be changed with persistence and will; we really can make a difference. Iron Jawed Angels tells a story that has largely been forgotten, save a few sentences in our high school history books. The story occurs at the birth of a century, the dawn of a new world. And yet, women still did not have the right to vote. Unbelievably, it took women being jailed in conditions that today would be in violation of our civil rights liberties and worldwide United Nations Human Right's Treaties to overcome the unjust laws of the time. These extraordinary women devoted their entire lives to the cause of women's rights. They were beaten up, jailed, insulted, spit on, force-fed through tubes shoved down their throats and noses, and even died, in order to win the right to vote. The voting privilege is distressingly taken for granted by many American citizens today. However, it was not automatically extended to all citizens in our democratic society; it was a right that required a civil war for some and, for women, it required a brave group of iron jawed angels that put their lives on the line and made history. It should not be overlooked that in many other parts of the world it is a right that is still denied; for too many women it remains a distant hope. It is therefore incumbent upon those of us who already enjoy this right to exercise it faithfully. That will be a tribute to the incredible women who fought for the right to vote in America.