Margaret Thatcher was the first woman prime minister of Great Britain (1979-1990) and probably one of the more divisive. The grocer's daughter was a professional politician from her early thirties after a brief spell as a barrister specialising in tax, a senior minister in the Heath conservative government (1970-74) then leader of the conservatives in opposition from 1975 before becoming Prime Minister in 1979.
This movie is not an account of the iron lady's career, but is a character study through a kind of interior monologue, as, in the grip of old age, she recalls her tumultuous career. The design of the film means that the casting of Maggie Thatcher is crucial and Meryl Streep rarely misses a beat (the young Maggie is also played well by Alexandra Roach). The scenes of Maggie in her dotage are particularly effective, though I could have done with rather less of them, and more about her career. Meryl has the voice pitch perfect, given that it changed from high pitched to a more authoritative growl as she climbed the greasy pole that is British national politics. Meryl also captures the gait and the body language – it's a quite remarkable performance. The ghostly Denis (he died in 2003) is also superbly played by Jim Broadbent, though he seems a good deal more whimsical than the real Denis.
It was said of Margaret Thatcher that she was the only man in her cabinet and there was no doubting her political courage. Her senior colleagues, played by a galaxy of fine British actors, are not a prepossessing bunch, apart perhaps from her mentor Airey Neave (Nicholas Farrell), tragically killed by an IRA bomb. Her embrace of monetarist economics and antipathy to unions had some destructive consequences, but she changed the face of British politics. The film does not really deal with her policies except perhaps to trace their origins in her background and upbringing (her father the grocer was involved in local body politics). The Falklands war of 1982 does get some screen time, but mainly to make the point that she personally authorised the sinking of the Argentine cruiser "General Belgrano", with the loss of 500 lives.
Margaret Thatcher still lives, an infirm old lady of 86, and is not likely to see the film, but it is interesting how such a self-righteous person as she was might see her life in retrospect. The film gives us one possible answer. According to his memoirs, John Howard as prime minister of Australia (1996-2007) admired Thatcher as a conviction politician but was a good deal more politically astute in implementing his conservative agenda. But he also stayed too long, and lost government and his seat in 2007. Thatcher's nemesis, covered in the film, was the poll tax idea, which she could not see was profoundly inequitable. It was ironic that as a former tax practitioner she forgot that ability to pay has to be at the basis of sensible taxation.
This movie is not an account of the iron lady's career, but is a character study through a kind of interior monologue, as, in the grip of old age, she recalls her tumultuous career. The design of the film means that the casting of Maggie Thatcher is crucial and Meryl Streep rarely misses a beat (the young Maggie is also played well by Alexandra Roach). The scenes of Maggie in her dotage are particularly effective, though I could have done with rather less of them, and more about her career. Meryl has the voice pitch perfect, given that it changed from high pitched to a more authoritative growl as she climbed the greasy pole that is British national politics. Meryl also captures the gait and the body language – it's a quite remarkable performance. The ghostly Denis (he died in 2003) is also superbly played by Jim Broadbent, though he seems a good deal more whimsical than the real Denis.
It was said of Margaret Thatcher that she was the only man in her cabinet and there was no doubting her political courage. Her senior colleagues, played by a galaxy of fine British actors, are not a prepossessing bunch, apart perhaps from her mentor Airey Neave (Nicholas Farrell), tragically killed by an IRA bomb. Her embrace of monetarist economics and antipathy to unions had some destructive consequences, but she changed the face of British politics. The film does not really deal with her policies except perhaps to trace their origins in her background and upbringing (her father the grocer was involved in local body politics). The Falklands war of 1982 does get some screen time, but mainly to make the point that she personally authorised the sinking of the Argentine cruiser "General Belgrano", with the loss of 500 lives.
Margaret Thatcher still lives, an infirm old lady of 86, and is not likely to see the film, but it is interesting how such a self-righteous person as she was might see her life in retrospect. The film gives us one possible answer. According to his memoirs, John Howard as prime minister of Australia (1996-2007) admired Thatcher as a conviction politician but was a good deal more politically astute in implementing his conservative agenda. But he also stayed too long, and lost government and his seat in 2007. Thatcher's nemesis, covered in the film, was the poll tax idea, which she could not see was profoundly inequitable. It was ironic that as a former tax practitioner she forgot that ability to pay has to be at the basis of sensible taxation.