Film Review: The Iron Lady

I've always found Margaret Thatcher's story intriguing- Great Britain's first female Prime Minister, who endured a wealthy and well-storied tenure until two weeks before I was born. I'm sure there have been other dramatisations of Margaret Thatcher's political life and I'm not sure why I've never seen them.

However, it was ultimately the trailer- portraying Meryl Streep as Thatcher- that caught my attention and assured that I did not miss seeing it on the big screen.

First of all, this was not the film I came expecting to see. What I expected was to be more based in facts, perhaps more biographical. However, what I got instead was a dramatised focus on an elderly and seemingly mentally-frail Baroness Thatcher set in the present day, taking us down memory lane and into her political career, as she appears to be battling the onset of senile dementia.

The film is set at a time in Margaret's life where she is preparing to empty her house of her late husband Derek Thatcher's possessions, while experiencing hallucinations that he (played by Jim Broadbent) is with her and apparently playing devil's advocate as she remembers the decisions that shaped her career. This worried me right away, and bothers me right now- is there any truth in this? Is Margaret Thatcher currently experiencing such mental difficulties?

Questionable fictional content aside, the film is certainly worth watching, as it offers an insight (whether true or otherwise) into the woman that shaped The Iron Lady herself. In this role Meryl Streep shines- both as the Prime Minister of the 80s- and as the present day's elderly Baroness. In particular, the little verbal utterances and gestures Streep included as Elderly Margaret really did convey the look and feel of an old woman.

Streep looks the part, seems to have perfected the iconic voice of Margaret Thatcher down to a fine art, and offers a bold and captivating performance as this picture's leading lady. As I said at the top of this review, it was the trailer alone that decided for me that I would go and see this film. Streep's perfectly Thatcher-esque deliverance of the line, "I may be persuaded to surrender the hat... the pearls however, are absolutely non-negotiable!"

While some of the drama's content may be skeptical, Streep's performance as The Iron Lady certainly is not. She is magnificent, and on a personal note she brought all of the good I've heard and watched of  Margaret Thatcher's reign as Prime Minister to the big screen, while stirring up the sincerest hope within me that our Prime Ministers continue to be bold, brave and decisive leaders.

Overall I largely enjoyed this film, and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in the story of Margaret Thatcher.