Movie Review of "The Iron Lady"

 (1 hr & 45 min, 2011)

There are four good reasons why I am glad that I saw this biopic of Margaret Thatcher, the first and so far only woman to be elected Prime Minister of Great Britain, serving from 1979 until 1990.

First of all, it has great historical value.  It sinks its spade deep into the 1980s, a period in western civilization when crucial things were happening not only in England but on an international scale, when what we call the Global Village took dramatic shape before the eyes of millions and began testing the sovereignty of nations in a new and complicating fashion.  Not the least of the developments on the plus side was the ending of the Cold War and on the negative side the endangerment of middle class society in western countries.  In struggles related to both, Thatcher played a large part.

Secondly, we get to trace the life of a lady who used her strength of personality and the heft of her imagination to pave the way for women in politics in the latter half of the twentieth century.  Under her inspiration many others of her sex have excelled in positions of leadership.  She was a pivotal player on the world stage, and she built her career not by being born in the lap of luxury and floating to the top but by working her way up from the bottom, shedding the stigma of a “mere” grocer’s daughter.  I am personally amazed that the woman at this moment in time, after all the contention and controversy she has been through, is still among the living.  She is eighty-six.      

Thirdly, I got to watch Meryl Streep, one of my favorite actresses, give one of her fine imposing performances.  What a dynamic marvel she makes of an embattled woman, pushing, persevering, agonizing and aging before our eyes.  Even without the brilliant makeup job, the soul of her character remains consistently visible.  Those sequences in the film depicting her encroaching Alzheimer’s and her conversations with her dead husband are so well written and intimate that they seem to transcend the subject of Thatcher herself.  We could be following the trajectory of anyone in a state of dementia and striving to let go of someone departed.  One memorable line sounds out the alienating effect of the disease: “When did I lose track of everyone?”

And fourthly, the film focalizes that slippery slope on which devotion to duty as opposed to personal ambition, and true leadership as opposed to absolute rule, become confused with each other in the forward rush of events and decision making.  Power is certainly a two-edged sword, and in more cases than not it is the one who wields it who feels its slicing edge all as much as those on the receiving end of it.  As for her politics, I will leave it to you readers to construe as you feel you must.

But at the least we can all agree that the Iron Lady lived up to that title, and increasingly so with the passage of time.  Recognition should be given to the movie’s director Phyllida Lloyd and the original screenplay writer Abi Morgan, neither of whom is familiar to me.  Perhaps in time they will be! 

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