In light of this week’s news of the passing of Baroness
Margaret Thatcher, what better opportunity to encourage borrowing the 2011 film
The Iron Lady which chronicles
important moments in Margaret Thatcher’s personal and political life.
It would seem since her death, the headlines and social
media sites have exploded into a predicted mixture of love and loathing for the
ex-Prime Minister. Before passing judgement, give it another thought and watch
Meryl Streep ignite the passion, energy and devotion she had towards her
beliefs and her country.
At the beginning of them film, Thatcher is an elderly woman,
visiting her local shops for some milk. She’s been forgotten by society and by
her family and since the passing of her husband; the last few years have been
peaceful. We watch her as she clears out her late husband’s wardrobe and we become
increasingly aware of her struggle with old age and dementia as she coherently
talks with her husband whom she imagines is in her room with her. Various
flashbacks take place, from her working in her parent’s grocery store as a
teenager through her education and election as Prime Minister. Fairly, we are
also reminded of the horrendous misgivings her leadership influenced,
including, the miner’s strike, the Brixton riots and further conflict in the
Falklands. She is shown as a forceful
figure of the government whom many disliked but others admired, as an out
spoken, strong minded and imperious political leader, who, as age took its toll,
lost her grip on her cabinet and was forced to retire as Prime Minister. The film ends as she takes her husband’s
clothes to the charity shop, thus saying goodbye to him and letting go of that
strand of her memory she so desperately clung to.
The film received a mixed reception from critics, most of
who hail Meryl Streep’s acting capabilities yet dismiss the films message and
script as a failed attempt at raising political awareness. However, in my opinion, the intentions of the
film were not to paint a picture of Thatcher as a sinner or a saint yet to
document her life. I agree it wasn’t done particularly well and the message
falls flat. The situational element of Thatcher in her old age was obviously a
ploy to pull on the heart strings and felt like a desperate attempt at making
her seem remorseful, which I truly believe she never was. However, the
documentation of her life is done concisely and Meryl Streep encapsulates her
personality perfectly, almost encouraging one to take a sympathetic eye over
her political mistakes.
It’s definitely worth a watch, if not just for Streep’s
outstanding embodiment of Thatcher that is so realistic and so mesmerising it
makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. She commands the role with
the strength and prowess that Thatcher commanded the Houses of Parliament with,
which was reason enough for her to hold the Academy Award for acting that year,
and as she said at the premier "It's a look back at power from the point of view of powerlessness" a sad fact that Thatcher struggled
with in later life. At the time of her death, Thatcher was just a lonely old
woman. Her children weren’t interested in her, her husband had been dead for
ten years and the vague and distance memories of her glory days were left echoing in the
back of her mind.
Her death was always going to be celebrated by some and the
majority of society won’t look back upon her time as our countries leader with
fondness, it was a sorrowful time and a lot of British citizens lost their
lives at the hands of her errors. What I do think she will be remembered for is
her courage and relentlessness, she was a strong figure of parliament, she lead
our country with her head held high and she powered through some of Britain’s
darkest days in recent years.
Further Reading in the Information Store:
The Iron Lady - DVD ZONE - 791.43I
The Fall and Rise of Margaret Thatcher by Alan Watkins - BOOK ZONE - 330.941082
The Downing Street Years by Margaret Thatcher - BOOK ZONE - 330.9410858
