The Iron Lady: Movie Review

Cast: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Iain Glen, Anthony Head, Olivia Colman, Richard E Grant

Director: Phyllida Lloyd

Here comes the first real contender for Oscar acting glory.

Meryl Streep is former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher, whose policies polarised the nation back in the 1980s and whose mark in politics will always be felt.

This biopic looks back on Thatcher's life as she battles illness; it begins with Maggie slipping out and avoiding her guards to go and buy a pint of milk and then flashes back to her early days as a political hopeful in the Conservative party before she swept to power.

But as the film unfolds, it's clear Maggie's a lady who's just about clinging to reality; haunted by visions of her husband Dennis; she's bewildered by the noise of a mobile phone and the emphasis these days on feelings rather than thinking.

The film weaves back and forth between key moments in her political career; the Falklands conflict, the bombing of the Brighton hotel, the death of her trusted aide by the IRA, and her eventual departure from Number 10 Downing Street.

Quite frankly this film is nothing without its lead - Meryl Streep is a commanding, towering figure in this who becomes Thatcher both in stature and speech; the resemblance is uncanny, terrifying and is perhaps easily one of the best character performances of the year (and should bag her an Oscar nom).

To say she is the centre of the film is an absolute understatement; her presence in it ensures the film's lifted from just run of the mill biopic and occasionally heavy handed directing. There are times when the director uses flashbacks to Maggie's youth to hammer home a message - and it's totally unwarranted. Plus the slightly lumpy back and forth flow of the film holds it back a little.

But it's the quieter moments she shares with the ghost of Dennis (played with such simplicity and heart by Broadbent) that elevates the film into the echelons of a love story. There's also a few humorous moments too which give it light and clarity as a story.

In creating this film, the writers have managed to bring a degree of sympathy to a political figure whose policies and sheer obstinate behaviour caused such heartache for so many in the UK in the 1980s.

Ultimately the Iron Lady sets the bar very high for character performances this year and Streep definitely deserves an accolade for superbly catching the haughty arrogance of Thatcher - and for proving, when it comes to it, she truly can act.

The Iron Lady: Movie Review - Rating: