The Iron Lady

In the past few years, we have seen many studios take up biographical films of important figures, and The Iron Lady, a film directed by Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia), follows the notable first female Prime Minister of Britain, Margret Thatcher.

    

Meryl Streep shines in the roll of Thatcher; sadly, however, the script of the film does not.

     The film itself moves back and forth between various periods of Margret Thatcher's life, putting emphasis on her in the present day as she flashes back to her time as a young woman during the German bombing of the British Isles in the midst world war two, her time in the House of Commons, and her tenure as Prime minister. It is, for the most part, typical biopic fare, relatable to works such as The Kings Speech and The Queen.

     However, one would expect that a historical biography would stick to the facts as closely as possible in hopes of presenting an informative reality. The Iron Lady, while somewhat accurate in the portrayal of Margret Thatcher in flashbacks, suffers from the problem of creating an invented, unsubstantiated reality during their portrayal of the aging Thatcher in the present.

     They have chosen to portray Margret Thatcher as a mentally and emotionally unstable borderline schizophrenic, who spends most of her time hallucinating that her dead husband is in the room with her, talking to her. This adds a disturbing layer to the film. Though Mrs. Thatcher in the past has had health problems due to age, there is no public evidence that she has suffered from a tendency to see and speak with imaginary people. This portrayal made for an uncomfortable watching experience. This no doubt is what led her children to refer to the film as a 'left-wing fantasy'.

     Part way through the film, we see her seem to snap, and run around turning on every loud appliance, trying to drown out her dead husband's voice, played by Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge, Bridget Jones's Diary, and Harry Potter). This moment was painful to watch, not because of what was happening, but because it is a purely imagined ailment that really does seem meant to make us view her as a doddering, frail or woman who is a danger to herself.

     The film also suffers during flashbacks when they are portraying her as a young woman before her electoral successes. They show little about what motivates her, and the script seems to rush through these scenes as if to get them finished quickly so we can have more time with Meryl Streep. With little chance to see how she came to hold her deep convictions, the impression is given that she just parroted her views from others.

     Even with the flaws in the writing, Streep puts in an engaging, strong performance in the role of Thatcher. Throughout most of the film, she gives a powerful and articulate portrayal, deftly revealing the accented tones, and mannerism of the former Prime Minister. In some ways, Streep's performance makes the film worth watching, just on its own. It is not hard to see why Streep won the Golden Globle for the role.

     Regardless of whether you revere or revile Margret Thatcher, this film ultimately fails to give us a glimpse into what made her tick, as one might expect, or at least hope to experience in a biographical work. Outside of Meryl Streep's stunning performance, the only other redeeming quality to The Iron Lady is that it reminds us that the political arguments are timeless and repetitive, and gives us the opportunity to look to history to see what works, and what does not.

At a Glance

http://www.theironladymovie.co.uk/blog/

Release: December 30th (Limited), January 13th (Wide)

Opening: $220,409 (Limited), 5,419,000 (Wide)

Awards for Best Actress (Meryl Streep): 2012 Golden Globes, Denver Film Critic Society, 2011 New York Film Critic Circle Awards, New York Film Critic Online Awards 2011, and Southeastern Film Critics Association Award.