Plot summary (from the studio): THE IRON LADY is a surprising and intimate portrait of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), the first and only female Prime Minister of The United Kingdom. One of the 20th century’s most famous and influential women, Thatcher came from nowhere to smash through barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male dominated world.
Warning: Spoilers below!
Liked:
- Meryl Streep was absolutely amazing in this role! She was mesmerizing from beginning to end, and had me riveted to my seat even though this wasn’t exactly an edge-of-your-seat kind of movie. Just brilliant!
- I’m not sure what kinds of sources the screenplay was based on, but it was sad (in a poignant way) to see a once-powerful woman struggle with dementia like that. I really felt a lot of compassion towards Thatcher upon finishing this film.
- I enjoyed the flashbacks to Thatcher’s youth as well. She was truly a pioneer in British politics, and it was great to see how her career began. She showed herself to be strong, determined, and steady right from the beginning.
- The scene where she got into Oxford was a nice little touch. The daughter of a grocer on her way to making it big!
- I liked that Thatcher owned her past instead of trying to distance herself from it. A rise from humble beginnings always makes the best story.
Disliked:
- I wasn’t quite sure what the filmmakers wanted to say about Thatcher. I went into this movie not knowing much about her — and I came out of it only slightly better informed. Was she liked as prime minister? Was she hated? Where were the reactions from regular people rather than just politicians from the opposing party?
- Her relationship with Denis seemed sweet, but what was it based on? From what I could tell, Margaret was always busy with her career and didn’t have much time for anyone in her family. I was therefore unable to completely buy into this lingering love she had for Denis and her reluctance to let go of him and his things after his death. Maybe the real couple did have a deep bond; I’m just saying that the filmmakers failed to lay the foundation for it here.
- Why are strong women in politics always forced to change in order to conform to some image? Margaret Thatcher had to change her hair and her voice in order to be taken seriously? Really? I mean, she didn’t exactly start out as Lady Gaga to begin with. She was neither eccentric nor frumpy, so why the fuss?
Rating:
The Iron Lady provided an interesting look at the life of Margaret Thatcher during her time in power and afterwards. Though the result was a bit too vague for my tastes, Meryl Streep’s performance more than made up for other shortcomings. The content of the movie rates 3 stars, but the acting brings it to 4 stars out of 5.