Film Reviews

The Iron Lady

• Rating:
• Director: Phyllida Lloyd
• Starring: Anthony Head
• Details: UK/US 104mins 12A

Much like its focal point, The Iron Lady is a strange beast. Told predominately in flashbacks, the disjointed nature of the production undermines a fine Meryl Streep performance and what could have been a fascinating film. By skating over major events in her life - and thus never really getting under the skin of Thatcher enough to call it a more personal effort - The Iron Lady skates an almost distant middle ground.
We first meet Margret Thatcher as a lonely old lady ravaged with Alzheimer's. She still has full blown conversations with her long dead husband, Denis (a mumbling Broadbent) and has more lucid days than others. Looking back at her life while faffing about her gaff and having servants run around after her, Thatcher is a shadow of her former self. The aforementioned flashbacks begin with her first attempts to be elected as an Oxford educated youngster in the 50s, it follows a chronological order of her life and political career and occasionally comes back to the faffing.
Just like recent Nelson Mandela biopic Invictus, this is a missed opportunity to capitalise on perfect casting. Streep does a spot-on Thatcher; there really can't be any arguing with that. She embodies one of the most divisive political figures of all time superbly, and has obviously worked hard to get her manner right, as well as the obvious aesthetics. It's not surprising that Oscar talk started as soon as the project was announced, and had Streep starred in an overall stronger film but given a similarly strong performance, said talk would be in even louder.
In fairness the majority of the acting work here is very strong, with Anthony Head excellent as Thatcher's right hand man, Geoffrey Howe. It's a very subtle, but ultimately telling performance; he doesn't have an awful lot of dialogue, but his wonderful turn deserves mentioning for just how effective it is. Howe was a pivotal figure in the life of Thatcher, and her behaviour towards him sucks any hint of sympathy that the audience may have had for her after learning her mother wasn't exactly a hugger. We know she had a bad relationship with her Ma because she doesn't hug her after she gets into college y'see... Explains a lot? Not really. She remarks frequently how she "prefers the company of men" but the only context for this we're given is one scene in flashback.
Worth seeing for the acting, but a shoddy biopic overall.

Review by Mike Sheridan