Immy's Review: The Iron Lady

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. The power seemed to take over as she was in denial over the elections when another party challenged her for the position by saying “I am the Prime Minister” – when she was in her old state.

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.