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Cast: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant, Olivia Colman
Elderly and a virtual prisoner in her own home due to her concerned staff and daughter Carol, Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first woman prime minister, looks back on her life as she clears out her late husband Denis's clothes for the Oxfam shop. Denis is seen as being her rock as she first enters parliament and then runs for the leadership of the Conservative Party, culminating in her eventual premiereship. Now his ghost joins her to comment on her successes and failures, sometimes to her annoyance, generally to her comfort until ultimately, as the clothes are sent to the charity shop, Denis departs from Margaret's life forever.
THE IRON LADY is a surprising and intimate portrait of Margaret Thatcher (Two-time Oscar® winner Meryl Streep), the first and only female Prime Minister of The United Kingdom. One of the 20th century’s most famous and influential women, Thatcher came from nowhere to smash through barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. I can't say what kind of appeal the story might have in the U.S. but the performance by Meryl Streep is worth seeing alone. It's not isn't fitting someones life into a film that is under two hours long so the film doesn't provide as much details on Margaret's personal struggles and achievements.
We all know that Meryl Streep is an incredible actress and one of the best living today but her performance here is incredible,t her transformation here into an elderly woman, including the accent, the makeup, the attitudes and personality, is nothing short of amazing. Even if you are not familiar with all the history behind the woman or the politics the film is a must see for Streep alone.
The story of Thatcher's life is told through a series of flashbacks experienced by the woman long after she left office as the British prime minister. We see how she entered politics, met her husband, rose to power, earned the Iron Lady nickname, and was pushed from office by her own party. For those unfamiliar with her life and politics, it's educational if not biased. This is not your conventional bio everyone might be use to seeing but over-all it's a pretty interesting and entertaining film.
Over-all the story missed the mark on several levels but Streep's performance more than makes up for it all, if you like this sort of bio-pic and you're a fan of this incredible leading lady then I highly recommend picking it up.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy. Both are available with Special Features that include:
Making The Iron Lady
Bonus Featurettes:
Recreating The Young Margaret Thatcher
Battle In The House of Commons
Costume Design: Pearls and Power Suits
Denis: The Man Behind The Woman
Released by Anchor Bay Entertainment
*** 1/2 Out Of *****