Review: The Iron Lady (2011)

Cast: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Country: UK | France
Genre: Drama | Biography
Official Trailer: Here

The Iron Lady, directed by Phyllida Lloyd of Mamma Mia fame, is an interesting, though fragmented portrait of Britain’s most divisive Prime Minister, the (still living) Baroness Thatcher. Among the politically aware, Maggie Thatcher (Meryl Streep/Alexandra Roach) remains an incredibly influential figure of the 20th century, with her free market economics and refusal to negotiate with trade unions making her much admired by some, while vehemently hated by others. Her tenure from 1979 until a brutal deposition by her own party in 1990 was inarguably a time of immense change, globally and within Britain; however, the film fails to capture much of this.

…an interesting, though fragmented portrait of Britain’s most divisive Prime Minister…

Lloyd’s portrayal of Thatcher’s life is instead framed by the subject’s current deteriorating mental health, with Thatcher’s story told in a series of poorly paced and tenuously linked flashback sequences. The Iron Lady‘s policies and life’s work take a back seat to her personal life, with Lloyd attempting to highlight the sacrifices Thatcher made in order to make Britain great again. Lloyd does this by putting Thatcher’s relationship with her husband (Jim Broadbent/Harry Lloyd) under the spotlight, with his constant presence, even in death, serving to comfort his workaholic wife.

However, if it were truly her intention to emphasize Thatcher’s sacrifices, Lloyd’s efforts might have been better focused on Thatcher’s relationship with her children as opposed to that of her seemingly healthy marriage. The only hint at distance between Thatcher and her children is in a very short scene of Thatcher driving to parliament with the children trailing after her car, demanding attention they shall never receive. Her children are otherwise absent from her years in parliament, without even a mention, making it hard for one to empathize with sacrifices we do not see her make. Furthermore, it would seem from the portrayal of Thatcher’s old age that she still gets on well with her children, with her daughter Carol, portrayed by Olivia Colman, quite undramatically coming to take care of her ailing mother. Even she, despite her lengthy time on-screen, is not fully realized character, with her role confined to that of a caretaker, rather than a slighted daughter.

However, if it were truly her intention to emphasize Thatcher’s sacrifices, Lloyd’s efforts might have been better focused on Thatcher’s relationship with her children as opposed to that of her seemingly healthy marriage.

Having failed to effectively commit Thatcher’s personal struggles to the screen, one would presume that Lloyd would be able to fall back on a fully realized depiction of Thatcher’s political efforts. Here, Lloyd’s use of archival news footage is a stroke of sheer genius, with images of the Falklands War and numerous riots successfully highlighting both the failures and successes of her policies as no recreation could. However, the flashback sequences were otherwise arbitrary, poorly executed and confusing. A rotating cast of unexplained characters in poorly set up scenarios acted as a highlights reel of Thatcher’s life, providing little depth or insight into her context, merely acting as a soap box for Meryl Streep to stand on as she gave speech after speech to her friends and colleagues. Only my parents, who lived in Britain during the Thatcher years, seemed to understand who all the various MPs were, thanks to impressive hair, make-up and costume departments and exceptional casting (notably the unrecognizable Anthony Head as Deputy PM Geoffrey Howe).

Despite this, the film still gave a fairly comprehensive run-down of Thatcher’s battle with the unions and the Falklands War, which it should be commended on - those with no knowledge of the Thatcher years would easily be able to follow these political plotlines. Nevertheless, many other aspects of her tenure were not done justice, such as the troubles with Northern Ireland, her international relationships (particularly her work with Ronald Reagan to end the Cold War) and the division over the European Union that brought the end of her career. Most likely Lloyd was trying to cut the running time by condensing years of political problems down to a few short scenes. However, the film’s erratic pacing would have benefited from a decision to either entirely cut or entirely keep such political issues in the film. It seemed cruel to trivialize the Irish Troubles down to a pro-British montage.

It seemed cruel to trivialize the Irish Troubles down to a pro-British montage.

To be fair to Lloyd and her screenwriter, Abi Morgan, a mere hour and three quarters could never fairly consider the entirety of Margaret Thatcher’s long political career. However, I do remain critical of the film’s failure to commit to a singular view of the Baroness Thatcher - either as a political leader or as a mother and wife - with the end result trying to juggle so many things that it does do anything justice.

The film’s strength lies in it’s fair representation of the titular character. Just as in real life, the Iron Lady of the film can be either loved and hated by the audience, with Lloyd succeeding in an even handed portrayal of such a polarizing historical and political figure. As per usual, Meryl Streep gave a truly amazing performance, with the script providing ample opportunity for her to wax lyrical about a variety of topical issues. If confusing and unrealized in parts, the film was certainly a touching story about the strength of a woman who was determined, against all odds, to set Britain back on the right track.

Whether you loved her, or you hated her, The Iron Lady showed another side to Margaret Thatcher. What that side was, I’m not entirely sure.

Zoe Moorman

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I'm a film, literature and history lover from Sydney, Australia. When I'm not watching an embarrassing number of John Hughes films and period pieces, I enjoy playing around with photography and my video camera.