The Iron Lady: "With All Due Respect Sir, I Have Done Battle, Every Single Day Of My Life"

Director: Phyllida Lloyd 
Writer:    Abi Morgan
Starring: Meryl Streep
               Jim Broadbent
               Olivia Colman
               Alexandra Roach
               Harry Lloyd
               Anthony Head
               Nicholas Farrell
               Richard E. Grant
Rating:    ****


Release Date: Out Now

Meryl Streep's return to the big screen sees her taking on her biggest role to date, and to say she performs it brilliantly is wrong, she is absolute perfection. The film (helmed by Mamma Mia director Phyllida Lloyd) jumps through time a lot and unfortunately is over taken by the sheer velocity of Streep's performance.

The story follows the current Thatcher era, old, withered and stricken with Dementia, and it is this that sets the movie off. We follow Margaret (Streep) as she remembers, fondly, her first meeting with her husband, and her 11 year run as Prime Minister. She is alone and stuck in her home, and spends her days having imaginary conversations with her eccentric, deceased husband, Dennis (Broadbent). After 8 years she finally agrees to clear out her husbands things, and it is here that Phyllida uses the time travel devices to follow Thatchers turbulent life.

We get to see Thatcher as a young woman (Roach) when she receives her place at Oxford and experiencing early political rejection before gaining a seat in Parliament. We also get to experience the early days of her relationship with Dennis (Lloyd) and he paints her as a fish out of water in the House of Commons. As she rises fast in Westminster, Thatcher soon finds herself leading the country after a momentous montage that sees a team give her a makeover to create the Thatcher we all know, the leader.

The film seems to rush through the big intense moments in her political career, mainly to concentrate on the person and explore how she got to where she got, and how her decisions affected her. I am aware that a lot of people are disappointed with this, but I actually enjoyed experiencing the journey of the person rather than dwelling on the things we already know about, and that many people actually experienced. It is fair to say that The Iron Lady plays it safe, but for me it worked and was truly gripping.

All along Meryl Streep has said that it is more about Thatcher's grief and regrets rather than her career, and that really came across. It's in the latter moments that the film is most effective, as the elderly Thatcher tries desperately to accept the loss of her husband, whilst clinging on to his memory dearly. Also the way she is used as a celebrity to promote the Tory party, even in ill-health, is quite hard to swallow and often emotional to watch.

Streep completely dominates the film, seamlessly moving between humour, strong will and pathos. The supporting cast also perform to their best, particularly Broadbent and Olivia Colman as Carole Thatcher (despite her fake nose). Even the smaller parts of Geoffrey Howe and Michael Heseltine (Anthony Head & Richard E. Grant) are crucial to the story, as loyal Conservatives who lose faith in their leader.

This is without a doubt some of Meryl Streep''s best work in years, and I definitely sense many awards coming her way, because her performance is truly groundbreaking. Despite it dragging slightly at the end, it really is an emotional story about one of Britain's most formidable leaders. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was gripped throughout, and it is most definitely a must see for all cinema goers.

The Iron Lady - Trailer

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