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Amazon.co.uk Review
Phyllida Lloyd, who directed Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia!, takes a less exuberant tack in this unexpectedly poignant biopic. In the script, written by Shame's Abi Morgan, Lloyd depicts the elderly Dame Thatcher (Streep in a thoroughly convincing performance) as a frail figure replaying key moments in her life while her mind still continues to function. Her trajectory begins with grocer Alfred Roberts (Downton Abbey's Iain Glen), who became the mayor of Grantham, instilling in his daughter, Margaret (Alexandra Roach), a passion for politics. After graduating from Oxford, she felt ready to enter the fray, at which point she met Denis Thatcher (Harry Lloyd), who cheered her along on the road from Parliament to 10 Downing Street, where they lived during her time as Britain's first female prime minister (Jim Broadbent portrays the grey-haired and ghostly Denis). While closing mines, dodging IRA hits, and overseeing a war, the blue-clad titan built alliances with Airey Neave (Nicholas Farrell) and Geoffrey Howe (Anthony Head), but she would lose them both. If her will was strong, she had no time for feminine niceties like conciliation and forgiveness. The film goes on to suggest that she never cultivated the kinds of female friendships that might have sustained her in retirement, though her daughter (Tyrannosaur's Olivia Colman) did what she could. Instead, Denis remained her closest confidante until his departure, after which she had nothing but fading memories. The upshot is an uneasy combination of admiration for her leadership qualities and disappointment in her interpersonal skills. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
DVD Description
Nominated for four BAFTAs including Leading Actress and Supporting Actor, The Iron Lady, starring Meryl Streep, tells the compelling story of Margaret Thatcher, a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman.
"The movie event of 2012"--The Mail on Sunday
"Exhilarating"--The Daily Telegraph
"Extraordinary"--The Financial Times
"The movie event of 2012"--The Mail on Sunday
"Exhilarating"--The Daily Telegraph
"Extraordinary"--The Financial Times
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I can't understand all the negative reviews for this film. I can only assume that people are writing out of bitterness for what Thatcher did whilst in Government, or bitterness that she's been portrayed with a weakness by the film. At its core, this movie isn't about party politics, or policy decisions, or whether what Thatcher did was right or wrong - it makes no judgements at all - but rather it is about Margaret Thatcher as a woman and as a human being.
The story is focused on a present day Margaret Thatcher, suffering from mild dementia and portrayed as a woman somewhat out of her time period. Through her illness, she experiences flashbacks of her past and her rise and fall in politics. We see her go from promising young politician from an ordinary background, to a female MP trapped in the world of men, to a pioneering Prime Minister, to someone who has been in power too long and begins to lose her way.
Whatever you might think of Margaret Thatcher and her Government, the point of this film is to portray the woman as honestly as possible and, for the most part, it achieves that. It isn't a Conservative, Liberal or Labour fuelled film and it isn't anti or pro Maggie. It allows the viewer to make up their own mind.
The key to the movie is the older present day Maggie. We see a woman suffering from dementia and virtually alone. She has a slightly wayward daughter and a son who doesn't give a damn about her - symptoms of a life putting politics first. Meryl Streep's portrayal is exquisite. For most of the film, and particularly the modern day segments, you'll often forget that this is even an actress playing a part and get sucked in entirely. Even if you despise Margaret Thatcher as a politician - as one of my friend's does - you, like him, will end up sympathising with her.
At the end of the day, we are all human. We all have our beliefs, our ethics, our strengths and flaws; we all make mistakes, we all fall ill and we all die. This film, through chronicling Thatcher's life and political career, is a poignant reminder of that.
The story is focused on a present day Margaret Thatcher, suffering from mild dementia and portrayed as a woman somewhat out of her time period. Through her illness, she experiences flashbacks of her past and her rise and fall in politics. We see her go from promising young politician from an ordinary background, to a female MP trapped in the world of men, to a pioneering Prime Minister, to someone who has been in power too long and begins to lose her way.
Whatever you might think of Margaret Thatcher and her Government, the point of this film is to portray the woman as honestly as possible and, for the most part, it achieves that. It isn't a Conservative, Liberal or Labour fuelled film and it isn't anti or pro Maggie. It allows the viewer to make up their own mind.
The key to the movie is the older present day Maggie. We see a woman suffering from dementia and virtually alone. She has a slightly wayward daughter and a son who doesn't give a damn about her - symptoms of a life putting politics first. Meryl Streep's portrayal is exquisite. For most of the film, and particularly the modern day segments, you'll often forget that this is even an actress playing a part and get sucked in entirely. Even if you despise Margaret Thatcher as a politician - as one of my friend's does - you, like him, will end up sympathising with her.
At the end of the day, we are all human. We all have our beliefs, our ethics, our strengths and flaws; we all make mistakes, we all fall ill and we all die. This film, through chronicling Thatcher's life and political career, is a poignant reminder of that.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The acting in "The Iron Lady" is superb. Merle Streep brings Margaret Thatcher to life, visually vocally and in spirit. Jim Broadbent, as her husband Dennis, is a performance to match and enhance Streep's own. The blending of the roles of Alexandra Roach and Harry Loyd as the young Margaret and Dennis with the later manifestations is seamless.
The story itself recalls memories, even to Americans, of the Falklands War and introduces us to some of the controversies Thatcher's policies engendered in Britain. I am sure that British memories would be stimulated much more than Americans.
I found the focus on Thatcher's presumed dementia to be a distraction from the film. It is the milieu in which the life-long love story between Maggie and Dennis is presented, but I still find that detracts from the power of the film. The real story of Margaret Thatcher is the story of her active life, her life of struggle for the British people and the Free World, not the story of an elderly woman in decline. If a movie of Ronald Reagan purported to present his life but focused on his final years I would find it offensive. I feel the same about Lady Thatcher. This film makes me want to know more about her and read her books, but I think it will be awhile before I watch this movie again.
The story itself recalls memories, even to Americans, of the Falklands War and introduces us to some of the controversies Thatcher's policies engendered in Britain. I am sure that British memories would be stimulated much more than Americans.
I found the focus on Thatcher's presumed dementia to be a distraction from the film. It is the milieu in which the life-long love story between Maggie and Dennis is presented, but I still find that detracts from the power of the film. The real story of Margaret Thatcher is the story of her active life, her life of struggle for the British people and the Free World, not the story of an elderly woman in decline. If a movie of Ronald Reagan purported to present his life but focused on his final years I would find it offensive. I feel the same about Lady Thatcher. This film makes me want to know more about her and read her books, but I think it will be awhile before I watch this movie again.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
To be honest I don't see what the fuss is about regarding this movie, it's neither interesting nor controversial, nor IMHO particularly good. Yes, Meryl Streep does a good job acting, but even that is probably more of a great impersonation job than sheer acting brilliance per se. Other than that, it was a fairly uneventful, borderline tedious couple of hours (here I will give the makers some credit - the temptation must have been great to turn this into some huge 3.5 hr behemoth!) which gave me no particular intellectual, emotional or artistic insights. I guess I'm glad to be able to say I've seen it, rather than not, but I certainly won't need to watch it second time.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Iron Lady
The Iron Lady is a very good film, a shame it focuses too much on Mrs T's dementia though!
The actress who took the part of Carol Thatcher was very good; and of course, Meryl... Read more
The actress who took the part of Carol Thatcher was very good; and of course, Meryl... Read more
Published 9 hours ago by Val
The result did not warrant the effort!
After having, impatiently, waited for the DVD we were admittedly rather disappointed. This does of course not relate to the brilliant actress Meryll Streep who portrayed Margret... Read more
Published 2 days ago by Bernd Renz
disgraceful opportunism
This movie should not have been made and I feel that its existence and the collaboration of everyone involved utterly objectionable. Read more
Published 2 days ago by thetruthshallsetyefree
Iron Lady
Bit long winded. Its still a good film to watch as you get to know about Maggie's rise to PM and her earlier years.
Published 2 days ago by Harley Bear
The Iron Lady
The Iron Lady [DVD] I found it a very disappointing film, especially after the pre-release advertising. Read more
Published 3 days ago by GB
Great acting but just an ok film
I firstly must say this is not what I would call my kind of film however based on what I saw this film is a good film from the acting point of view,Meryl Streep is the main figure... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Blue hunter
Great Performance - weak script and structure.
Streep gives another consummate performance in her carefully nuanced portrayal of our former PM. However the structure of the film let's it down and the superficial portrayal of... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Adrian Drew
Could be better...
The Iron Lady is watch-able film but how much it reflects the state of Baroness Thatcher's later life is debatable and at times rather unpleasant, the portrayal of dementia verges... Read more
Published 10 days ago by J. C. Nelhams
Dry and uninteresting biography
To anyone who suffered through this woman's reign in the 70s and 80s the thought of putting Margaret Thatcher as a protagonist in a film about herself should come as a kick in the... Read more
Published 16 days ago by Mr D.K Lind
I wish it had been otherwise made
I have come late to this movie, and my reluctance has been endorsed by the experience.
In character acting Meryl Streep is almost beyond everyday praise. Read more
In character acting Meryl Streep is almost beyond everyday praise. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Mrs. Katharine Kirby
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