The Iron Lady

An overview of the life of former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, The Iron Lady is an interesting look at the figure. With Meryl Streep starring as the controversial leader, the story is intriguing for a viewer not as familiar with Thatcher’s policies and decisions as someone from England would be. But being released only a few months after the biopic of J. Edgar Hoover, there is a very similar feel to the two films. Both deal heavily with the figures in their later life and then the audience looks in on select events from the past as the character remembers.

The Iron Lady is very well acted, even though most supporting roles are very brief. Jim Broadbent plays Thatcher’s husband Denis, who appears as a hallucination for most of the film, but is still well developed. The other performances worth noting are the younger versions of Margaret and Denis, played by Alexandra Roach and Harry Lloyd. As different as they are from Streep and Broadbent’s takes, they are somehow completely believable as the same people. Plus that extensive length of time covered helps build up their relationship in the film.

Like many of the award show favorites, this is not a film for everyone. There’s not much mindless entertainment, though it is very educational and powerful. Beyond Thatcher’s politics, there is insight into dealing with aging, personal loss, and great professional pressure. Since the story is so involved there are some pacing issues, which slow down every time the film returns to the elderly Thatcher sitting alone in her house. Also the attempt to make Streep look identical to the real woman is a bit odd. The audience understands there is an actor playing the character and she will look different. The little fake teeth are quite creepy to be honest.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.