The Iron Lady

“The Iron Lady” stars Meryl Streep (as (a) the middle aged and (b) the old Margaret Thatcher), Alexandra Roach (as the young Mrs. Thatcher) , Harry Lloyd (as the young Denis Thatcher) and Jim Broadbent (as the older Mr. Thatcher). Written by Abi Morgan and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, this 105 minute bio-drama depicting the life of the United Kingdom’s first female Prime Minister is really 3 films in one. The film centers around the old Mrs. Thatcher and her flashback recollections of her life both prior to and when she was in the center of the political arena. Unfortunately, the film’s emphasis is weighted in favor of the old woman and not the vibrant upstart figure that the middle aged Mrs. Thatcher exemplified. We watch the daughter of a storekeeper become an active participant in local and then national politics but the emphasis throughout the film, rests on the old lady who can barely recall what has transpired in her earlier years.
That all being said, one must acknowledge and tip the derby to Ms. Streep who shows us once again how wonderful and talented an actress she is. I went to this film expecting to see her do a Julia Child’s impersonation in a political instead of a culinary setting.. Happily this was not the case. Unless you knew in advance that the old Mrs. Thatcher, was Ms. Streep, you would not recognize her. And, as the middle aged Mrs. Thatcher, the more contemporary looking Meryl Streep shows us what it took for a woman to break into the “old boys’ club” in British politics, to become the leader of its Conservative party and to then serve as PM for more than 11 years. The film is honest in its portrayal of this dynamic leader for it proves that only someone as strong willed and almost arrogant in her demeanor as Mrs. Thatcher could accomplish what no other person of that gender ever did. Here, unfortunately, the performance of its star is much greater than the film in which she appears. Ms. Streep deserved a better script and a more finely conceived dramatization of the life of one of the great figures of our time. Nevertheless, I give this film 3 stars because of the performance of another dynamic figure of our time, Ms. Meryl Streep.