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The Iron Lady (2011)


Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Writer: Abi Morgan 
Stars: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent and Richard E. Grant

The story of how a butcher's daughter from unlikely Lincolnshire rose to become the most powerful woman of her generation, going to war half way across the world, against her own people and against the IRA, stretching the boundaries of gender equalities and leaving a legacy of being the most polarising figure ever in British politics ought to be an engrossing historical journey. The reality however sees director Phyllida Lloyd opt for a story about a senile old lady being told off for venturing to the cornershop.

The Iron Lady’s problems are in the main structural, labouring in the present and using the heft of Thatcher’s legacy as mere wallpaper. Focusing on the former Prime Minister’s crumbling psyche as she engages in clearing out her late Husband Denis’ (Jim Broadbent)  wardrobe, clumsily triggering scattered fragments of reminiscence that tell her story. Interjected are interactions with Denis which attempt to contextualise her senility and act if anything as a welcome comical instrument within these frustratingly timed interludes. 

Meryl Streep the one saving grace is also emblematic of the same problems, falling foul of the structural constraints. Of the three Thatchers we see, one being a young Margret Roberts (Alexandra Roach), Streep’s Iron Lady at the peak of her powers and service to the nation trumps Streep the frail, widowed, retiree yet the screen time is too balanced to support the accomplishments of her political career. Union Strikes, the Falklands, terrorism, resignation  are all  glossed over too briskly with little gravity and sense of importance, even more humanistic landmarks such as marriage and motherhood feel choked out of the pitiful 100 minute running time by indulging in a comparatively insignificant present.

The Iron Lady despite Streep’s resplendence is a failure, lacking edge, heart and worst of all integrity, offering little for either detractors or devotees of Thatcherism to sink their teeth into whilst also being unable to even provide anything remotely substantial or educational for newer and future generations to learn from. The great Lady, her legacy and her country deserved better.

5/10

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