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Poster artwork for the biopic drama film The Iron Lady.
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Margaret’s
Memories by Linh
The film The Iron
Lady is overall an average film and is saved by the brilliant performances
of its lead actors Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent and newcomer Alexandra Roach.
Critics have called it the next King’s
Speech, but by no means is this film anywhere close to the warmth,
poignancy and inspiration of 2011’s Academy Award winner for Best Film. The Iron Lady is a non-linear biopic
seen through the eyes of an older Margaret Thatcher whose memories provide the
narrative thread of critical points in her personal and political life. These moments in her life are some of her
most infamous and memorable, yet these events (Falklands War, anti-trade
unionism, privatisation etc.) are seen in extended flashbacks and have little
explanation and lacks connection to her present state.
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CONSERVATIVE
COUPLE: Denis Thatcher (Jim Broadbent) and Margaret Thatcher
(Meryl Streep) celebrate Mrs. Thatcher being Britain's first female Prime Minister
in the film The Iron Lady. Image:
Pathé Films.
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The role of Margaret Thatcher is unashamedly Oscar-bait
for Meryl Streep, who once again rises to the challenge of convincing mimicry
and imitation with her usual excellence in performance and screen presence.
Despite Streep’s remarkable resemblance to Mrs. Thatcher, with the help of
movie makeup, it is a major fault to use dementia as a means to humanise the
former British Prime Minister in order to draw sympathy from viewers. No matter
how frail or to what extent she is plagued by mental illness, Mrs. Thatcher
will always be seen as a monstrous and fierce political force for refusing to
compromise or negotiate with those who disagreed or challenged her views. This
unwavering stance has gained Mrs. Thatcher praise as well as criticism that led
to division in her party and disunity among her party members and colleagues.
During her leadership, women were divided, with those supporting her for being
a woman who penetrated the male dominated realm of politics or she was reviled
by other women who saw Mrs. Thatcher as more monstrous than humane in dealing
with social issues.
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PARLIAMENTARY
POWER: Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep) shows no compromise
during parliamentary debates in the film The
Iron Lady. Image: Pathé Films.
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The film opens with an older Margaret Thatcher (Meryl
Streep) twaddling along to the shop to buy milk. She is quietly displeased at
what she believes is the high price of milk and complains about it to her
husband when she arrives home. Mrs. Thatcher is suffering from symptoms of
dementia and she sees her husband Denis (Jim Broadbent) around the house, even
though he has been dead for decades. She speaks to him when she is by herself
and he responds with jovial quips and silliness. As Mrs. Thatcher tidies up her
house, various items trigger memories of her past, bringing on flashbacks from
her teenage years, her time before election into the Conservative Party and her
glory days until the end of her political career.
Streep is superb as the middle-aged and older Mrs.
Thatcher; Jim Broadbent does a sterling job as the ghost of Denis Thatcher;
Alexandra Roach is excellent as the young Margaret Roberts and the supporting
cast members, comprising of Richard E. Grant, Roger Allam, Anthony Head, Harry
Lloyd and Olivia Colman, are commendable in their roles.
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LEADING
LADY: Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep) prepares for her
victory speech in the film The Iron Lady.
Image: Pathé Films.
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Dementia and other mental illnesses used to “soften up”
Mrs. Thatcher is a questionable ploy to gain sympathy for a politician depicted
as one who is now left feeling powerless and lonely. An impairment such as stammering or speech
impediment was a sure-fire winning formula for The King’s Speech, but in this instance, mental deterioration is
viewed as a blatant attempt for The Iron
Lady to gain the sympathy vote from viewers and Academy Award voters.
Although it is a wonderful idea to see the effects of dementia on the lives of
individuals portrayed onscreen, the film The
Iron Lady misuses it for its own purposes (such as for winning
awards/sympathy votes). Using dementia in this manner is shameful, yet the
producers and director Phyllida Lloyd must be admired for attempting to find a
way to humanise Margaret Thatcher in the eyes of many Britons who lived under
her regime of social unrest and political turmoil. The Iron Lady helped Meryl Streep win an Academy Award for Best
Leading Actress, her third Oscar, and also won for Best Makeup.
The
Iron Lady Official Film Trailer (courtesy of Pathé Films):
Director:
Phyllida Lloyd
Writer: Abi
Morgan (screenplay)
Cast:
Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Alexandra Roach, Harry Lloyd, Olivia Colman,
Richard E. Grant, Anthony Head, Roger Allam, Nicholas Farrell, Susan Brown,
Nick Dunning, Iain Glen, Michael Maloney, Pip Torrens, Angus Wright, Julian
Wadham
Producers: Anita
Overland, Colleen Woodcock, François Ivernel, Cameron McCracken, Tessa Ross,
Adam Kulick Damian Jones
Original
Music Composer: Thomas Newman
Cinematographer:
Elliot Davis (Director of Photography)
Film
Editor: Justine Wright
Production:
Simon Elliott (Production Designer), Bill Crutcher, Nick Dent (Art Directors),
Annie Gilhooly (Set Decorator)
Costume
Designer: Consolata Boyle
Hair
and Makeup Designers: Marese Langan, J. Roy Helland, Mark Coulier
Running
Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
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