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Title: The Iron Lady
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, though there is some language and violent images, I suppose most kids can handle it. Recommended for ages 10 and up. |
Margaret Thatcher (sometimes mockingly called Maggie Thatcher) is one of the world's most controversial figures. Responsible for staring wars, high unemployment, and shunning her critics, she was responsible for high economic success for England as well as ending a few wars that were unpopular. Why she remains a key interest for many people is that it's debatable whether or not she actually did more harm or more good. “The Iron Lady” stars Meryl Streep as Maggie herself as she's retired from politics and living a secluded life away from the public eye. She talks to her husband Dennis (Jim Broadbent); however he's been dead for several years, so maybe she's going senile?
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For a senile woman though, she tends to have a good memory of key events in her life. However these key events are just that: Key events. Unlike most bio-pics where the audience is left with a good idea of what the person's life is like, I walked away from “The Iron Lady” not knowing any more about Maggie Thatcher than I did going in. I learned in this film that her father was into politics and owned his own business, but it's unclear how this shaped her future political career. She has kids and stayed married throughout her life, but we don't know how she related to them. She is almost never with her kids, so it's no surprise one of them doesn't visit her later on in life. She gets along with the ghost of her dead husband, but when she remembers him alive we get the sense the two didn't really get along because Maggie always put her political career first.
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Just what WAS her relationship to this man?! For that matter, how did she see the people and the country she ran? At one point she proposes everyone who lives in England pay the same amount of taxes regardless of wealth or stature. Alright, that's fine…but why? When did she get to the point where she thought this was a good idea? I'm not saying whether I agree with her or not, but I'd like to at least understand what she was thinking when she put this forward. This is where “The Iron Lady” ends up being anti-climactic: It sort of assumes you know who Maggie Thatcher is and assumes you've already made up your mind about her. By making this assumption director Phyllida Lloyd has directed a film that highlights certain aspects of Maggie's life without giving them any purpose or weight. The movie is named after Maggie's real life public nickname, but why this particular name caught on is sort of left up in the air. Yeah, I can make some educated guesses, but since there's no education in the film the guesses would just be guesses.
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The highlight of the film is obviously Meryl Streep as Maggie, who portrays her convincingly both at the height of her career and at the point in her career where she might just be another old senile lady. Make no doubt about it though: Streep was READY to play Maggie Thatcher! It's a shame the movie does little to warrant such a great performance. I'm not sure who “The Iron Lady” was made for. People who are familiar with Maggie Thatcher will likely walk out of the theater wondering where the rest of the movie is. People who aren't familiar with her might as well still not be.
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