Culture Most Wanted.
Firstly I feel I should come clean; I am one of Thatcher’s children. I was eight years old when she came to power in 1979 and, like many others; I lived in a Thatcher-supporting household. One of my earliest memories was shaking her hand and giving her a bouquet of flowers. Fascinated by her elegant suit, impressive hair-do and utterly personable manner, I was rendered unusually speechless.
Before seeing this film, I was fully aware that it would be a story of power, politics and, of course, feminism. But, interestingly, back in the 80s I never questioned how a woman could be Prime Minister. I assumed all women were in charge with the Queen ruling the monarchy, my mother ruling our house and this formidable woman governing the country.
Abi Morgan’s screenplay, The Iron Lady brilliantly takes us through the Baroness’ life, from her childhood working in her father’s grocer shop through to the dementia-induced hallucinations of her past husband, Dennis, in a journey of lucid flashbacks.
Meryl Streep’s performance is nothing less than outstanding in her role as, arguably, Great Britain’s most admired Prime Minister. From the uniquely husky voice, the head tilted, the triumphant walk, the polite yet demanding demeanour… there is no doubt that this is an impeccable performance of the woman who led our country for 11 years.
I have to presume that Lady Thatcher’s dementia is amplified for the simple reason that her politics were not admired by all. I think it might be fair to say that the right have always had a slightly unhealthy fascination with her and that the left remember the impact of her savage spending cuts with rather less affection. The adapted screenplay of her life will no doubt appeal to a broader audience as Streep portrays her in a distressing and vulnerable senile state. More history and less dementia might have made Thatcher critics uncomfortable?
The American actress is not alone in her achievements. Jim Broadbent, as Dennis, gives an endearing performance and Olivia Coleman portrays overly fussing daughter Carol in a startlingly accurate way. I noted moments such as the miners’ strike and the sinking of the Belgrano are not explored in much detail. I must admit that the, perhaps inaccurate, senility feels like an invasion of a living woman’s privacy.
In summary though, the skewed biopic makes for a breathtaking retrospective of the Thatcher years. This is a compelling story of a woman’s dream to ‘make a difference and to put the great back into Great Britain’. Her pearls, the Roberts radio, the pots of tea and the boiled eggs for breakfast are all a reminder of everything that is wonderful about our country.
Main Image © Alex Bailey
The Iron Lady is showing across the UK now.
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About the author
Emma Parlons
Emma is a freelance writer and enthusiastic networker. She founded Meeting of Minds, a networking group for female entrepreneurs in London in 2009. She joined www.evolvdigital.com as New Business Partner at the start of 2010 bringing her PR and online retail marketing experience to the team. Prior to joining Evolv, Emma was founder director of online beauty start-up, www.returntoglory.co.uk, and has also worked as a freelance PR consultant for a number of boutiques (on and offline), having had extensive business PR experience working as Head of Consumer Communication at AOL UK (1999 – 2007) and as Deputy Head of Corporate PR at Freud Communications (1997 – 1999).
Emma is a freelance writer and enthusiastic networker. She founded Meeting of Minds, a networking group for female entrepreneurs in London in 2009. She joined www.evolvdigital.com as New Business Partner at the start of 2010 bringing her PR and online retail marketing experience to the team. Prior to joining Evolv, Emma was founder director of online beauty start-up, www.returntoglory.co.uk, and has also worked as a freelance PR consultant for a number of boutiques (on and offline), having had extensive business PR experience working as Head of Consumer Communication at AOL UK (1999 – 2007) and as Deputy Head of Corporate PR at Freud Communications (1997 – 1999).
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I was never a fan of ‘Maggie Thatch’ and my childhood memories of her, in contrast to Emma’s, are that she was a villain. But I’m looking forward to seeing Iron Lady because, love her or hate her, she had such an influence on this country that we still feel it today.