The Iron Lady (2011)

Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Story: Abi Morgan
Cast: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman, Anthony Head 
Music: Thomas Newman
Time: 105 minutes
Bottom-line: Streep’s fabulous acting drives the film

 Meryl Streep once again shows why she is one of the greatest actresses Hollywood as seen. With two Academy Awards already in the bag, she pouches the third award in her 17th Oscar nomination. In this 2011 biopic, Meryl Streep plays the longest-serving and the first woman Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher.

The story is shown in a non-linear narrative structure. It begins in 2008, with an elderly Thatcher (Streep) buying milk. She is unnoticed by the public. She is shown struggling with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and other problems of old age. She cannot distinguish between the past and the present, and she also sees projections of her dead husband Denis (Broadbent). She reflects back on her days of glory, and the viewers get to see the life of Margaret Thatcher through flashbacks. The flashbacks tell several important incidents of Thatcher’s life: her entrance into the male-dominated society, her rise to power, and her doings once in power, and all the other incidents till 2008.

Streep as Thatcher 

Now one thing about biopics that I want to tell you - and this is something I keep telling myself also - is: never decide how good a biographical film is, based on the life of the person shown. Just because say, Howard Hughes, led a more interesting life than say, Gandhi, does not necessarily mean that Scorsese’s The Aviator is better than Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi. However, one thing that I want to comment on about this film is that is shows only the positive aspects of Thatcher. The only negative part of her life shows is her old age problems. In all her flashbacks, she is shown to be a great ruler, with no faults at all. This is one reason why this film isn’t as good as The Social Network (2010) or The Aviator (2004). The former film shows mainly the darker side of Mark Zuckerburg, whom many people idolized till then. The latter film also showed few controversies of Hughes’ life as well. However, The Iron Lady shows Margaret Thatcher as a pure hero, with no controversies or negative points of her rule. That is not what a biopic should do: it should show both the ups and downs, and the proportion of these is up to the directors, but there should be some amount of both.

Alexandra Roach as the young Thatcher 

The story is moves slowly at first, and is never fast-paced. Thatcher’s past is shown is shown in a fractured manner, with bits and pieces of her past days interspersed with the events of the 2008 timeline. The viewers have to guess whether or not the event is a flashback based on how Thatcher looks. However, as not many of us are familiar with Thatcher or her doings, the film may seem boring. The score is also good. Several of Thatcher’s speeches are heard in the background, while on the screen we see how she progresses up the order to finally become Prime Minister. The period settings are also superb. However, some events of her past, like the British attack on the Argentinean troops over Falkland Islands, is shown like a TV coverage, but I felt that showing that event like it was actually happening would have looked better on screen.

Broadbent as Denis Thatcher 

Now, coming to the most important aspect of the film: the acting. Streep is the one who takes up most of the screen time. Her powerful speeches (as Thatcher) may make people inspired even now. Her expressions and acting when she suffers from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are brilliant. Her emotions when she tries to come to her senses that Denis is dead, and when she realizes that she is indeed alone in the world are also superb. Streep has acted so well, that despite the loads of make up she put, her acting and character are still authentic. One of the best scenes, in my opinion, is when she leaves #10, Downing Street, after completing eleven years in power. She mixes all sorts of emotions in her face, as she leaves the building with tears in her eyes.

Anthony Head playing Geoffrey Howe 

To sum up, Phyllida Lloyd’s The Iron Lady should be watched mainly for Streep fantastic acting. The film covers only Thatcher’s days of glory, and hides the negative aspects. This film reinforces why Streep certainly deserves every word of praise she can get for her acting. I feel that Lloyd could have shown the basic events being covered in the film as a paragraph or voice-over, so that those unfamiliar with Thatcher's life can understand the film. Had that been done, I would have enjoyed the film more.

My Rating: 3/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 51%