The Iron Lady [DVD]

I think this film was rather unfair to the iron lady giving far to much weight to the mental deterioration and insufficient weight to the struggle she must have had to reach the position of our first Prime minister

After watching 'The Iron Lady' on television recently, I enjoyed it enough to buy it on DVD.

Whilst I am no supporter of Margaret Thatcher, this is a fantastic film and Meryl Streep's performance was indeed worthy of an Oscar. Her portrayal of the former Prime Minister (1979-1990) was uncanny and her battle with dementia truly moved me, politics aside, I felt for her as a human being. Jim Broadbent was also excellent as Thatcher's deceased husband Dennis.

It has to be said that if you require greater knowledge of Thatcher's time at No. 10, you would be better off watching a documentary instead (I recommmened BBC's 'The Downing Street Years'). This is because the viewer doesn't really find out about that side of things, famous events like the miners' strike are touched upon all to briefly.

Having said that, Meryl Streep is fantastic and I really enjoyed 'The Iron Lady', it does portray her in a sympthatic light but does remind the viewer at times of the hurt that some of her policies caused people.

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.