The Iron Lady
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Starring: Anthony Head, Jim Broadbent, Meryl Streep
Details: UK/US 104mins 12A
We first meet Margret Thatcher as a lonely old lady ravaged with Alzheimer's. She still has full blown conversations with her long dead husband, Denis (a mumbling Broadbent) and has more lucid days than others. Looking back at her life while faffing about her gaff and having servants run around after her, Thatcher is a shadow of her former self. The aforementioned flashbacks begin with her first attempts to be elected as an Oxford educated youngster in the 50s, it follows a chronological order of her life and political career and occasionally comes back to the faffing.
Just like recent Nelson Mandela biopic Invictus, this is a missed opportunity to capitalise on perfect casting. Streep does a spot-on Thatcher; there really can't be any arguing with that. She embodies one of the most divisive political figures of all time superbly, and has obviously worked hard to get her manner right, as well as the obvious aesthetics. It's not surprising that Oscar talk started as soon as the project was announced, and had Streep starred in an overall stronger film but given a similarly strong performance, said talk would be in even louder.
In fairness the majority of the acting work here is very strong, with Anthony Head excellent as Thatcher's right hand man, Geoffrey Howe. It's a very subtle, but ultimately telling performance; he doesn't have an awful lot of dialogue, but his wonderful turn deserves mentioning for just how effective it is. Howe was a pivotal figure in the life of Thatcher, and her behaviour towards him sucks any hint of sympathy that the audience may have had for her after learning her mother wasn't exactly a hugger. We know she had a bad relationship with her Ma because she doesn't hug her after she gets into college y'see... Explains a lot? Not really. She remarks frequently how she "prefers the company of men" but the only context for this we're given is one scene in flashback.
Worth seeing for the acting, but a shoddy biopic overall.
Review by Mike Sheridan
Your Comments
scorpio6
Oh,dear,this sounds quite disappointing,I was really looking forward to seeing Streep as this formidable woman...but the plot sounds rather flimsy...still I will go see..
Posted 20/12/2011 19:00:04
andrewire
I will still see it for the Streep performance. She can play Batman and be the right choice.
Posted 04/01/2012 21:36:39
DoubleLetter
What a terrible film!!!! When I seen the trailer I was thinking this was going to be incredible, well I was wrong. Basically if you've seen the trailer you've seen all there is to see. The main flaw with this is the fact that it is set in the present day mostly, with Tatcher very senile and hallucinating her dead husband. The first time we see it I thought "ergh, oK I'll just forget I seen that" but then THE WHOLE FILM was about this deluded old hag seeing the ghost of her dead husband who just seems to irritate her as well as me!! They just skip through major points in history and there are at least 14 montage scenes of YouTube footage which basically is just used as a "see this happened". The story is really about the demise of power. It's mostly Tatcher in old age. They even end the film with her crying saying "I don't want to be alone" ergh how do they know she feels this way!? Are they somehow eavesdropping on her life for all we know she is perfectly content, yet grieving her husband. It's actually offensive cause like she is still alive. She could be watching the movie now thinking "wtf??" just an awful attempt at making a movie. Very camp and jazzy. In fact it's a musical without the music!! No wonder seeming it's made by your one who made mamma Mia. Without trying ti sound sexist I think this would have been better if a man wrote the script and directed. Too much emphasis on her getting her new hair done and the only one in a pair of heels in the chambers, is that what the iron lady was really about, skirts and shoes? Nope! The whole film is just rushed, even her eventual leave from office is so rushed it's as if she was mean to a colleague which caused them to b**ch about her and ask her to leave. It didnt happen like that at all. In fact that should be the tag line "none of this happened this way" very much looks like a poor UTV drama. Meryls acting is superb as usual. If she wasn't in this movie it would be HORRENDOUS (kinda still is) I give it 1.5/5.... Soley just cause of Meryl. Phylidia or whatever the directors name is should be never given the honour to make another movie ever again!!!!
Posted 06/01/2012 21:20:38
FilmBuff76
The Iron Lady is a difficult proposition for modern audiences - how do you make what many people regard as a monster sympathetic? Well, that's what Phyllida Lloyd has done with Margaret Thatcher in this film. Yes, that's the same Phyllida Lloyd who made Mamma Mia so you know what you're getting here - something shallow and lacking any real bite. There's nothing wrong with Meryl Streep though, as she inhibits the role with her customary flair and conviction. She really is superb and I wouldn't expect any less from her. Another Oscar nomination for her is assured. The real problem here is Abi Morgan's half-baked script and the narrative structure which flits back and forth, like a greatest-hits of Thatcher's life. It just doesn't work and certainly doesn't do Thatcher's legacy justice. It's worth a look for Streep's performance alone, but the film will fade from memory fairly quickly unlike her subject. Imagine if the script was by The West Wing's Aaron Sorkin and it was directed by Stephen Frears or even Ken Loach? Now that's a Thatcher movie I'd like to see...
Posted 07/01/2012 18:37:14
ellegibbons
What can I say Meryl Streep's performance was outstanding as per usual, I enjoyed watching a story about Margret Thatcher's personal life, was it engaging NO, worth a watch YES just have to be in the mood for this film
Posted 21/02/2012 15:54:05
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