The Good, the Bad, and the Confusing Regarding 'The Iron Lady'
I got back from seeing The Iron Lady a few hours ago, and admittedly speaking as someone born in the final months of her government, I actually liked it, but I would still say I am strongly critical of certain aspects of it. Having read both John O'Sullivan's and Virginia Postrel's reviews of the film, I can say that their reservations are completely justified, but the balance of the whole thing makes it one of those movies that is worth seeing at least once.
The film's opening portrays a doddering, disoriented Iron Lady in the present day purchasing a pint of milk at local shop, a depiction I am not entirely convinced is not a jab at "Maggie Thatcher, Milk Snatcher" during her days as Secretary of State for Education and Science. On the whole, I found the frame story of an elder stateswoman losing her marbles to be rather objectionable. The elderly Thatcher in the film, I thought, was intended to be a sympathetic figure, but her portrayal as hallucinating that her dead husband was talking to her was just plain weird, and a little degrading.
Jim Broadbent may be an excellent actor, but his use by the film as the manifestation of Lady Thatcher's regrets about her life assigned to her by the screenwriters seemed inappropriate given what John O'Sullivan and others have written about Denis Thatcher's actual relationship with his wife, which I am given to understand was healthy and supportive. In the film, however, Denis is depicted at times almost as a malevolent poltergeist tormenting the decaying Baroness with her own imagined regrets. The overall story of the film is one of Margaret Thatcher dealing with the loss of her husband, and neglecting her family in favor of public life.
To this point, I have more or less thoroughly trashed the overall story arc of The Iron Lady, but there are aspects of the film that make it worth the viewing. What makes it interesting is that Thatcher's politics are almost irrelevant to the film. It would have been nice had her conservatism been portrayed in an explicitly positive manner, but one can expect only so much from the film industry. The filmmakers did not hide her politics, but simply chose to emphasize her political and rhetorical skills. The Iron Lady is basically only worth seeing because of the flashback scenes depicting the rise of the grocer's daughter to the leadership of the United Kingdom, and her eventual fall from power, scenes that take up roughly half of the movie, particularly towards its second half.
So yes, the frame story was sub par, and this was certainly not the best way to do a Thatcher movie. What it does well, however, it does very well. It tells the story of a remarkable stateswoman who worked her way through the Tory hierarchy on the ladder to greatness. For all of the flaws in its storytelling and its use of history, there are two things that this film is most certainly not. It is not the story of Thatcher the conservative icon. It is at best ambivalent towards both her ideology and her policies, and does not extoll her accomplishments in turning the UK around. What this also means is that it is not the story of Thatcher the bogeyman. Meryl Streep's Thatcher is not the Thatcher of Labour mythology who drank the blood of coal miners and salted it with the tears of children, and for this at least we can be thankful. This is certainly not the Thatcher film that needed to made, but for all of its flaws, I still consider it worthy of viewing.
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Apr '11
Re: The Good, the Bad, and the Confusing Regarding 'The Iron Lady'
The first thing I noticed about the film was the "old people smell" walking into the smallest theatre in our 14-plex, which was about 2/3 full. The drama with finding seats and getting the popcorn rivaled anything on the screen.
I tried desperately tried to like the movie, but only liked about five minutes worth of it, where Lady Thatcher is setting her advisors or colleagues straight about being proud to be British, getting up off your arse and get working, busting the unions etc. Those scenes were great.
I could have done without the 56 scenes of Dennis creeping us out with his tete a tetes from being the grave. You could make a case that this was in essence a horror movie.
Basically my conclusion is that the take of the film makers was that Lady Thatcher wound up lonely and insane, and that's what she gets for being mean to the unions, causing all of those riots, and killing all of those people in the Falklands war.
To drive it home, they show her cleaning up the tea cup at the end of the movie. Two thumbs down.
May '10
Re: The Good, the Bad, and the Confusing Regarding 'The Iron Lady'
Hmm. That clip seems very off. Almost like an American's hazy view of how the British parliament works.
Apr '11
Re: The Good, the Bad, and the Confusing Regarding 'The Iron Lady'
Eric, My husband and I saw it with friends a couple nights ago. He almost got up and left. The other male in our group laughed at certain lines and said he thought it a good movie.
His wife and my husband and I felt otherwise. In fact I'd say that Peter's comment above - "You could make a case that this was in essence a horror movie" puts into words the uneasy feelings this movie generated in me.
As we left the theater I stated that the movie was brilliant - and brilliantly cruel - and biased in the manner in which it selected which biographical details to emphasize.
I could only recommend that those who want to watch Streep's uncanny ability to inhabit another's looks, manner and personality, rent the movie and fast-forward to scenes when Streep is the young politician and finally prime minister - the formidable Iron Lady.
Otherwise, pass on this depressing and cruel use of Margaret Thatcher's story.
Dec '10
Re: The Good, the Bad, and the Confusing Regarding 'The Iron Lady'
I also liked about 5 minutes of Iron Lady - the rest of the degrading, insulting and boring assassination of Lady Thatcher's legacy, not so much. They should be ashamed of themselves, but they are without shame.
Pity that Meryl Streep didn't start with a script that captured more than just fleeting glimpses of an historic figure.
Apr '11
Re: The Good, the Bad, and the Confusing Regarding 'The Iron Lady'
I wonder if Claire has seen the movie. I liked her book a hell of a lot more than this movie.