What is it? Fact-based drama set in the early 1900s, centring on those protesting for the British women's suffrage movement. Why is it a major player? One day in the future, there may an Oscars ceremony in which Meryl Streep doesn't feature - but the Oscars 2016 isn't going to be one of them. In Suffragette, Streep makes her first of two 2016 Oscar bids (the other is Ricki And The Flash, though that may turn out to be too comedic for the Academy's liking), but in this one she's part of a bigger ensemble, with Helena Bonham Carter, Ben Whishaw, Brendan Gleeson and Romola Garai making up the rest of the supporting cast. In the lead, Suffragette also has Carey Mulligan, who the Academy may feel was left lacking a Best Actress Oscar in 2010 for An Education - what way better to reward her than for a role as a feminist trailblazer? Oscar regular Alexandre Desplat scores and the talented, as-yet unrecognised (by Oscar anyway) Abi Morgan writes, for a film that the Academy could well use as an answer to accusations of sexism levelled at the 2015 awards.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
