Die Eiserne Lady

There's no doubt about it: Meryl Streep will be nominated for her 17th Academy Award for her portrayal of Britain's most controversial Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, in this otherwise underwhelming biopic. Streep is mesmerizing as usual, but the mode of storytelling employed by screenwriter Abi Morgan and director Phyllida Lloyd – sporadic flashbacks among elongated stretches of following the elderly and mentally fragile Maggie – is a huge misfire. The scenes which recount her path from young adulthood through to local politics and then to her 11 years of turbulent leadership are intriguing, however they are too far and few between to really grip. Sure, it checks off the list as far as famous moments go, but a more in depth insight into how she ran the country would've been nice.

This film's strength lies in the acting by Meryl Streep. She breathes life into the persona of Margaret Thatcher and makes her feel like an authentic person rather than a caricature (whether positive or negative). However, the film has no other strengths. The story is completely unfocused and there is no overall point or theme to the random events.

Iron Lady, The (2011)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Incredibly disappointing film about the life of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep) from her early days to her rise to power. I'll start off with the obvious and that's the fact that Streep has once again delivered a remarkable performance. I'm really not sure how she does it but even under tons of make-up to make herself look like the elderly Thatcher, Streep still manages to get across various emotions and just look into those beautiful eyes and you can see everything you need to know. The actress has become legendary for many reasons but one of them is due to her uncanny accents and the one here is among the greatest you're ever going to hear. I should also mention that the previously mentioned make-up effects are wonderful and the people behind J. EDGAR should have asked for some advice on making people looking older. With all of that said, take away Streeps wonderful performance and you're left with one of the worst movies of the year and something so boring and lifeless that it's doubtful it would find its way onto the made-for-TV level. I wasn't sure what to expect going into the movie but I must say that I was blown away at how lifeless, silly and incredibly boring the entire thing was. I'm not an expert on the history covered in this film nor do I know a lot about Thatcher but if they couldn't come up with more interesting parts of her life than what's on display here then perhaps no film should have been made. For the life of me I can't understand why the screenwriter, producers and director decided to tell the movie in the fashion that they did. We start off with the elderly Thatcher having hallucinations of herself carrying on conversations with her dead husband. We then get flashback to various parts of her life. However, I was shocked to see that the majority of the running time deals with Thatcher and these fake conversations with her dead husband. I mean, could they not have focused on something other that these conversations? Was there a point of showing her in this fashion? Did they think this was going to add some sort of drama? The only thing it adds is the viewer constantly looking at their watch to see how much longer they have until the film is over. By the time the movie was over I really couldn't say I learned too much about Thatcher and worst of all is the fact that I didn't care about anything I was seeing. The only bit of a lifeline to be found is when we see Thatcher starting to take off in the political world but this is mainly due to Streep's fiery performance. THE IRON LADY will be remembered for one reason but even the greatness of Streep isn't enough to save the picture.

not good or bad. only strange because the courage to present the lead character more than a puzzle, to create more than a sketch of an admirable maker of history is absent. and only good point of The Iron Lady remains the presence of Meryl Streep in the lead role. the error is temptation to present the career of Prime Minister as flashes of memory. the last years of life are only a dark room far by the flashes of media. her sense of life remains the fight for the wise administration of the United Kingdom's interests. not the illness. not the fall. a part, far to be significant, becomes more important than entire life. Margaret Thacher's memory deserves more than an essay . or a sketch.because the film remains touching and seductive in a special form but not convincing.

An ageing Margaret Thatcher struggles to deal with the passing of her husband Dennis, and looks back at her rise to Britain's top job.

I looked at the relatively low score, and wondered how much of it was to do with the film, and how much was to do with the level of dislike that still exists for the former Prime Minister.

There's something missing, and I think it's the direction and the actual storytelling, it's so clunky, if someone were to re-edit this film, I think they could do something with it.

It's a fascinating story, Britain's first woman Prime Minister, a story that deserved to be told. For me, the good outweighs the bad, but the elements were here for this to have been a superb film, sadly it just isn't.

I liked the way the original news footage is mixed in, it's well fused. If only they'd have shown her Spitting Image character.

Meryl Streep delivers an outstanding performance, she is sensational, the voice, the poise, the body language, she is fantastic. Jim Broadbent is wonderful as Dennis, the pair combined so well.

6/10.