The Iron
Lady
Directed: Phyillida
Lloyd
Starring: Meryl
Streep, Jim Broadbent, Iain Glen, Olivia Colman, Harry Lloyd
Genre: Biography,
Drama, History
Stars: 5/5
(Please be warned that there are Spoilers in
this post)
I started this
review like I have done any other review, reading the reviews. I have to say
there is very little criticism on the film as a whole. I was surprised by this
as there is always something negative, but honestly the only slight negative
point was that it kept flicking between time lines – which left some confusion.
Although, personally I think that’s the way the film was intended, to make us
imagine the state of mind of Dementia.
I also watched the
trailer before the film also, and I have to say, it seemed very eye-catching,
but it wasn’t how I imagined it to be. I expected it to be more ‘real footage’.
The first scene was
really dramatic. It showed the old Mrs Thatcher in a shop buying a pint of
milk, in a frail manner walking to the counter and then walking back to her home.
The music was very moving – it went very well with the scene. It then moved
onto her sitting at the dining table eating her breakfast, talking to her
husband. Here she seemed confident, (unlike the first scene) and sure of
herself. After the scene her husband had disappeared and she was sitting at the
table alone. Her husband was in fact dead. It appeared that she had two faces
of her persona; she had her sure self, talking assertively and then the side of
being scared and lonely, the reality.
The film in general
was very touching as we can all only imagine how dementia affects a person,
some of us have experienced this with a loved one and exactly, how horrible and
disturbing it can be for them and for relatives. So, in all it gave a better
understanding behind the illness, especially seeing that something so simple as
a word or phrase can trigger back to the past – as for example in the film she’s
getting ready for dinner with the company of friends and family, when she says “I prefer the company of men”. She hears
laughter and it took her back to a time where she was ridiculed for being the
only lady in her position.
In this film it
showed us how she was teased most of her working life. She seemed as if she had
a really good way with words and trying to speak her point – she wanted to make
the world a better place, and she thought she knew best as she understood the
difficulty of hard living in a middle-classed world. She had to work hard for
everything she got, so her judgement became clouded as she became obsessed with
everyone doing the same to achieve. She became very career driven and stubborn
for people to hear her opinion and I think she lost sight of her colleagues and
family – simply because she wanted to do right, in her mind, above everything
else. She was a controller, she wanted to be in charge and questioned
everything anyone spoke to her about – personally I think she was just head
strong and became a mother, who wanted to do better for everyone, but
eventually it seemed it got the better of her original quest, which was to make
a better Britain
There were lots of
emotional scenes in the film which got to me. It was just interesting to see
the two sides of the one person, it was a film that showed that no matter what
she seemed to have done wrong, she is still a person who got hurt, old and
lived with the decisions she made. I think this came out more when she was
watching her old home-tapes of the children and kept playing them over and
over. Then to twist it again, she throws herself into denial over her husband
talking to her – she doesn’t want to look like she’s loosing her mind. (With
her career it wasn’t something she was able to do) She wanted to remain in
charge of her life.
Through the film we
also see how she lost so much when Britain
hated on her for the Poll Tax and the problems over in the Falkland
Islands and, well, so many other things. But, you have to admire
how in the film she stood her ground for so long, that she ended up coming out
on top – which it showed precisely how well she did her job. She was harsh, but
honest to everyone for exactly what she stood for and no-one can knock her for
that in the end.
For the final part
of the film, we saw once again her attempting to get rid of her husbands’
clothes and finding an old memory box that belonged to him; inside there were
cards from their children, leaflets from the elections and a photo of the
family where she breaks down to tears and asks her husband if he was happy – I think
this is where we see exactly how alone she felt at this time. It was her time
to then say goodbye to the husband she’s been keeping alive for so long in her
head and to finally let go of everything negative about her career. It was very
sad and I spent most of the last scene sobbing – I could only imagine how it
would feel to have to say goodbye to someone you have been with most of your
life and loved. To the one person who has always stood by your side no matter
what.
I really enjoyed
this film; I gave it 5/5 simply as it was a moving story, and I have to say,
one of the most heart breaking films I’ve seen. Mrs Thatcher was played by the
exceptional Meryl Streep – an actress who has done her finest work doing this
film. She’s always been one of my favourite actresses, especially since doing
the hit Mammia Mia! She did nothing but shine in this tale – also, was shocking
how much she actually looked like the real Mrs.T!
All in all it was a very touching and made me
sad – but also it inspired the fact, that no matter what your social standing,
you can always come on top and achieve. From a daughter of a green-grocer to
Prime Minister - no matter what your thoughts on her political standing, that’s
admirable.
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