The Iron Lady (2011): Film Review of Thatcher's Life

Introduction

Margaret Thatcher served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. She was the longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century and the only woman ever to hold that office. Elected to a third term in 1987, her popularity declined dramatically, and by 1990 she was forced to resign due to a lack of support for her policies. This paper is an in-depth review of the film about her life, The Iron Lady.

Background on the Film

In December 2011, a film about the life and times of Margaret Thatcher was released by 20th Century Fox in the UK and The Weinstein Company in the United States. Phyllida Lloyd directed the film, Damian Jones produced it, and the screenplay was written by Abi Morgan. Alexandra Roach played the younger Thatcher, while Meryl Streep portrayed Thatcher in her later years. Denis Thatcher, her husband, was played by Jim Broadbent, and Geoffrey Howe — her most trusted and loyal cabinet member — was played by Anthony Head.

The film was not widely praised by critics; however, Streep was nominated for an Academy Award and won — her eighteenth nomination in total. The film also received an Academy Award for Best Makeup, which is easy to appreciate given how remarkably Streep was transformed to resemble the former prime minister.

Film Summary

The film begins with Thatcher as a very old woman suffering from senility and dementia. She is seen buying milk in a small shop, unrecognized by anyone around her. Here was a woman who served as prime minister for over a decade, now entirely unrecognizable. She walks home, where she is assisted by her staff. The year is September 2008, and by the calendar Thatcher would have been 83, having been born in 1925.

In the background of the opening scenes, news reports describe a terrorist bombing of the Islamabad Marriott Hotel in Pakistan. Over the following days, the audience sees Thatcher struggling with her dementia, apparently unable to separate the contemporary world from the past. She is now powerless, where once she had wielded tremendous authority. The film is largely structured around flashbacks through which Thatcher recalls her most significant moments with a mixture of confusion and emotional pain.

She appears to believe she is speaking with her late husband, seemingly unable to accept his passing. It is a sad but poignant portrayal, reminding the audience that even those who once held great power can become as helpless as children in later life. One flashback shows a young Thatcher working in a grocery store owned by her parents — a detail that makes the opening scene both relevant and ironic, since the aged, unrecognizable woman at the film's start was once a vibrant and energetic young woman behind that same counter.

As a young woman seen in flashback, she is captivated by the political views her father shares with her — views that, the film suggests, sparked her lifelong interest in politics. She clearly idolized her father, while the flashbacks also hint at a difficult relationship with her mother. Viewers are thus given the impression that her political ambitions were largely shaped by her father's influence. In time, the audience sees her announce that she has won a place at the prestigious University of Oxford.

The film adequately presents historical information about Thatcher's rise to political power, depicting — again through flashbacks — her struggle to gain acceptance among the conservative, male-dominated British Tory Party. She nonetheless wins a seat in the House of Commons and, in time, marries a well-known businessman named Denis Thatcher. A particularly tender scene shows Denis proposing marriage to her. Before her ascent to the head of national government (she is famously known as the "grocer's daughter from Grantham"), she serves as Education Secretary, though the film devotes relatively little time to her work in that role.

Once she is established in the House of Commons, the film handles the gender issue effectively for that era. As a rare woman among many men, she is required to work harder and prove herself at every turn. It is unmistakably a "good old boys'" network, and she must push, prod, and force her way into meaningful participation in the establishment. The film uses visual juxtaposition to great effect: while the men of the House of Commons wear shiny black shoes and dull business suits, Thatcher appears in high heels and colorful dresses — a pointed contrast that underscores her determination to remain distinctly herself.

Thatcher also battles the trade unions — consistent with the conservative drive to reduce union power and allow business owners greater autonomy — and makes the bold decision to go to war with Argentina after that country invades the Falkland Islands, British territory. The film devotes more screen time to the Falklands conflict than to almost any other event during her tenure. Britain had held ownership of the islands since 1833, though that claim had long been disputed. As justification for her willingness to confront Argentina, Thatcher famously declared: "We shall stand on principle or we will not stand at all."

Works Cited

IMDB. (2011). The Iron Lady. Retrieved March 6, 2016, from http://www.imdb.com.