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Phyllida Lloyd, who directed Meryl Streep in “Mamma Mia!,” offers a soft-focus look at Margaret Thatcher — and Streep captures Maggie-the-PM and Maggie-the-frail-elderly-woman in yet another incredible performance.
In this film, don’t expect sharp political analysis of Margaret Thatcher’s 11-year reign as the first and only United Kingdom female prime minister, the ultraconservative who led with an iron will and iconic hairstyle from 1979 to 1990.
The two-time Oscar winner’s impeccable craft makes you forget that you’re watching an actor play the historical head of state, instead allowing you to suspend disbelief as soon as the biopic begins to unspool.
The opening scene fittingly places an octogenarian Thatcher, the daughter of a Grantham grocer, in a neighborhood market, purchasing a carton of milk to share with playful husband Denis (Jim Broadbent of “Iris”) over a breakfast of hard-boiled eggs.
Streep masters the physical transformation by taking slow, deliberate steps and bending in her shoulders — mimicking the tentative moves of an aged woman as precisely as the make-up and hair team created an uncanny likeness to the 21st-century leader. The pitch-perfect portrayal and voice introduce a sympathetic character trying to carry on with her everyday life with dignity, while time inevitably takes more from her every minute.
Revealing that Thatcher is having the first of many imaginary conversations with her late husband, Abi Morgan’s (“Shame”) script sensitively deals with issues of aging. We see the sense of loss, the dementia with flashes of clarity, the desire for independence and respect, and the well-intentioned acts of loved ones that rankle the very person they’re trying to help.
These scenes strike emotional chords and resonate on a universal level, particularly the exchanges between mother and daughter (Olivia Colman of “Hot Fuzz”).
Stream-of-consciousness narrative devices enhance the intimate portrait by placing the viewer into Thatcher’s mind. Snippets of the score from “The King and I” set off memories of her courtship. Touching her beloved pearls triggers flashbacks to her twins, since her husband had given the necklace to her upon their birth.
“When did I lose track of everyone?” she mourns at one point. Her political ambition and commitment to public service came with a price.
But Thatcher’s ability to shatter gender and class barriers all the way to 10 Downing Street counterpoints the inventive rendering of her inner life and lends poignancy to the discrepancy between her situation then and now. Newcomer Alexandra Roach exhibits the spunk and drive of the Iron Lady as a young woman. She defies male sexist attitudes, yet always prefers the company of men.
Although the drama portrays a feminist struggle, Thatcher never identifies with the feminist movement. Unwavering in her philosophy, she states, “Those who can do; they just must stand up and DO.”
The “doing” will divide audiences. Archival newsreel footage presents the dramatic developments of the 1980s, including widespread protests over Thatcher’s policies of financial deregulation; her dis-empowering the trade unions; IRA bombings, and the Falklands War. Thatcher’s opposition loudly indicates that the Iron Lady is not a leader who listens. But the movie hedges, making no political judgments; the big-picture assessments are up to the viewer.
You decide if Thatcher succeeded or failed in her attempts to put the “Great” back in “Great Britain.” Politics aside, “The Iron Lady” is a must-see for Streep’s great performance in a story compellingly told.
Rated PG-13 for brief nudity and some violent images. 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Rated PG-13 for brief nudity and some violent images. 1 hour, 45 minutes.
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