Film Review | 'The Iron Lady'

The Iron Lady
Directed by Pyllida Lloyd
Starring - Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Alexandra Roach
UK Film Council
105 min.
4 stars | B



The Iron Lady is a film recapping the life of Britain's former, and one of its most famous, Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher (Streep), and her road to assuming the leader of her party from the beginning stages of running for a spot in Parliament, to resigning from her position as the British leader.
The film wasn't really how I expected it, nor do I have violent feelings for it. I was excited to see the film, but the ending was not nearly as tastefully finished as I thought it would be. The beginning of the film shows Thatcher out to buy some milk, but learning that the price has been raised. She returns home to complain to her husband (who, at that point, is a figment of her imagination--he is long dead, and she has dementia--played by Jim Broadbent) and begins to reflect on her life after watching videos of her previous endeavors in her sitting room. The viewer sees the life of young Margaret Thatcher (Roach), all the way through the war, and ending with her resignation.
For me, I am aware that Meryl Streep's performance was grand and all that, and that it was "deserving" of the Academy Award (although I think it should have gone to Michelle Williams), but I really loved Roach's performance the most. Her assumption of Thatcher was really what set the tone for not only the film, but the character. She warns her future-husband that she'll never be an ordinary housewife, and that just says so much about Margaret Thatcher, and I think that Roach did that wonderfully. I also really enjoyed Jim Broadbent's performance, although I admittedly did grow tired of his character's presence, just as Maggie did--but I suppose that's how the viewer ought to feel. I was pleased by Meryl Streep's performance, but it was just very strange to watch her in this role, because it was just so...un-Meryl Streep that it bugged me. I mean, throughout the film, I didn't remember that I was watching Streep, which is always great, but it was just very close to being overdone in my opinion. I understand Margareth Thatcher's personality and who she is, and I respect that, but Meryl Streep's portrayal of that essence was almost unsettling.
I really loved the cinematography and direction for this film, as well as the makeup. I thought they were phenomenal and they made it hard to look away from the screen, working intimately with the actors; boosting them when they were weak.
Overall, the film as a film was wonderful, but the acting was just very foreign for me--except for the performances of Broadbent and Roach. An artistic film, though, which I appreciated.