The Iron Lady

What an impersonal biopic.

That's not a very nice way to start a review, but it's a film about the life of Margaret Thatcher - let's be blunt. The truth is if the filmmaker was half as honest as the Thatcher the film portrays, the film could be as tender and involving as The Queen. This film is, well, a mess. The narrative is disjointed, and that can work to great effect sometimes, but it does NOTHING for the film. We are not given merely enough time to be emotionally attached to the characters and situations. So let us all thank god for Meryl Streep.

Even with this sloppy material, Streep manages to give a compelling, nuanced and, most importantly, empathetic portrayal of The Iron Lady. As Stanley Tucci once said, Meryl Streep is quite simply... the best. This may be one of the best performances in her career, but I stand by  my words - that Oscar belongs to Viola Davis. Streep does exceedingly great, given the ineptitude of the script that is impersonal, muddled and unfocused, but in comparison to Viola Davis's performance [in The Help], Streep's[performance] felt short in terms of pathos.

However, I will praise the director for one thing, and that is for cutting short the scenes that do not feature Streep. In his review of the film, Roger Ebert said Director Phyllida Lloyd and screenwriter Abi Morgan seem to have little clear idea of what they think about Thatcher, or what they want to say. There is nothing worse than a film that is unclear as to what it wants to say, except perhaps a film that lacks depth and this film could have easily fallen into both categories, so once again, thank you Meryl.

The end of Magaret Thatcher's reign saved the film. It is with these scenes, that the audience is truly allowed to peer into Thatcher's soul and empathise with her, the character truly comes to life in these final scenes. Also, I'm sure I'm not the only one that loves the scenes where she becomes nasty, blunt and political. There is a trace of Miranda Priestly here. I did not know much about Margaret Thatcher prior to viewing this film and now I know I admire her, especially because she's imperfect.

What to score it... with Meryl's performance, it can't be anything lower than a 7. Without her, maybe a 4...

P.S. I love Meryl, I just think Davis was more deserving of this year's Oscar.