The Iron Lady (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
In 2008, Phyllida Lloyd directed the megahit, Mamma Mia!. There was a fun, unkempt, bad-is-good quality to the film that won over legions of fans - if not critics. Now she's back with her Mamma Mia! megastar Meryl Streep for an intimate biopic on Britain's ex-PM Margaret Thatcher titled, 'The Iron Lady'. While Meryl wows once again ... the movie is nowhere near her level of excellence. Lloyd presents Thatcher (Streep) as a hard-working woman of fierce conviction, but one who was actually pretty uninteresting. By establishing Thatcher's present (in her mid-eighties), close to 2 decades after her leave of office, the film recounts her political years in impressionistic flashback sequences. The resulting narrative plays out like a breakneck greatest hits compilation of her achievements; interspersed with scenes of old Thatcher suffering from dementia. In most of these scenes, she has chats/hallucinations with her deceased husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent).
One of the more disappointing aspects of 'TIL' is that most of Thatcher's achievements are glossed over in quick, half-baked montages. Nothing is really fleshed out or made to be compelling. The IRA's attempt on her life gets about 2 minutes of coverage. Her political relationship with Ronald Reagan is shown in a hazy sequence where she's dancing with him at a ball. And the weighty Falklands War is only given about 5-7 minutes of coverage. I did love a scene where Thatcher humiliates her cabinet staff. But most of the running time is spent with her in the state of dementia. And what we observe is an utterly convincing portrayal of someone who looks like old Meryl Streep playing an elderly woman named Margaret Thatcher who dots around her house. It could have been Margaret Thatcher. It could have been old Hortense Jones down the street. In other words, Thatcher gets lost in the shuffle of this movie ABOUT her.
On the occasion when one of the flashback sequences generate narrative verve, we are then yanked back to Dementia-Thatcher (as I'll call it); hence, halting forward momentum. If this film featured astute direction, an exciting plot, & rich dialogue, I wouldn't have minded the jarring transitions (I may have even loved it). But as is, the film just comes across as somewhat of a disappointment. And while Meryl Streep hits it out of the ballpark, none of her fellow cast mates make much of an impression to compliment her. Meryl uses her skill set and her gift for mimicry to show Thatcher at her most arrogant, as well as at her most vulnerable and empathetic self. So with the exception of some nice costumes & stellar make-up work, any success of 'The Iron Lady' belongs almost solely to Meryl.
You know, it is cool finding out how Thatcher busted into a male-dominated field & thrusted herself into 10 Downing Street by winning over detractors left & right. Her relationship with her husband is adequately presented/explored (they loved each other deeply, but she put her career ahead of him & their children). And it's interesting to see the contrasts btwn. Thatcher at the height of her power, and present-day powerless Thatcher. She paid a price for power. And like most elderly people, she seems depressingly lonely and guilt-ridden as she looks back at her past. That's what I took away from this film most of all ....... that growing old sucks. If you're looking for masterful acting, watch 'The Iron Lady' for Streep. It also has something interesting to say about aging. But if you're looking for an insightful look at Margaret Thatcher and/or her controversial 11 yrs. in power, sadly, you're better off doing a search on Wikipedia.
One of the more disappointing aspects of 'TIL' is that most of Thatcher's achievements are glossed over in quick, half-baked montages. Nothing is really fleshed out or made to be compelling. The IRA's attempt on her life gets about 2 minutes of coverage. Her political relationship with Ronald Reagan is shown in a hazy sequence where she's dancing with him at a ball. And the weighty Falklands War is only given about 5-7 minutes of coverage. I did love a scene where Thatcher humiliates her cabinet staff. But most of the running time is spent with her in the state of dementia. And what we observe is an utterly convincing portrayal of someone who looks like old Meryl Streep playing an elderly woman named Margaret Thatcher who dots around her house. It could have been Margaret Thatcher. It could have been old Hortense Jones down the street. In other words, Thatcher gets lost in the shuffle of this movie ABOUT her.
On the occasion when one of the flashback sequences generate narrative verve, we are then yanked back to Dementia-Thatcher (as I'll call it); hence, halting forward momentum. If this film featured astute direction, an exciting plot, & rich dialogue, I wouldn't have minded the jarring transitions (I may have even loved it). But as is, the film just comes across as somewhat of a disappointment. And while Meryl Streep hits it out of the ballpark, none of her fellow cast mates make much of an impression to compliment her. Meryl uses her skill set and her gift for mimicry to show Thatcher at her most arrogant, as well as at her most vulnerable and empathetic self. So with the exception of some nice costumes & stellar make-up work, any success of 'The Iron Lady' belongs almost solely to Meryl.
You know, it is cool finding out how Thatcher busted into a male-dominated field & thrusted herself into 10 Downing Street by winning over detractors left & right. Her relationship with her husband is adequately presented/explored (they loved each other deeply, but she put her career ahead of him & their children). And it's interesting to see the contrasts btwn. Thatcher at the height of her power, and present-day powerless Thatcher. She paid a price for power. And like most elderly people, she seems depressingly lonely and guilt-ridden as she looks back at her past. That's what I took away from this film most of all ....... that growing old sucks. If you're looking for masterful acting, watch 'The Iron Lady' for Streep. It also has something interesting to say about aging. But if you're looking for an insightful look at Margaret Thatcher and/or her controversial 11 yrs. in power, sadly, you're better off doing a search on Wikipedia.