Snack: Hot dog and Coke
I had hoped, when I decided to go and see "The Iron Lady," that I would be seeing the story of the rise to power of a significant 20th century political figure. Or maybe the story of a woman's rise in a traditionally male world. These were not really the stories this movie was interested in telling. Instead, a lot of time was spent chronicling the mental decline of Thatcher in her later years. Between that and scenes from her marriage, there didn't seem to be much time left to spend on her time in government. Unfortunately, I just didn't find the story that was told to be all that compelling. Honestly, it played like paint-by-numbers Oscar-bait. Margaret Thatcher was a controversial figure during her time in office who aroused both passionate opponents and equally passionate defenders. Here, though, it was as if the filmmaker was not sure how she felt about Thatcher as a political figure and so chose to just gloss over that part of her life.
The acting was uneven in places. Streep was fine, of course, but I found the performance of the actress playing young Margaret Thatcher to be a bit overwrought. Problematic performances combined with an overblown musical score make the whole production seem rather ham-handed. Surely there is much richer dramatic material to be found in the life and career of Margaret Thatcher, if only the filmmakers had tried harder to find it.
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