I could not take my eyes off Meryl Streep watching her overwhelming, incredible impersonation of Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady,” a nickname Thatcher received from the Soviets because of her steel constitution. It adheres to a storyline the controversial politician endured reigning as England’s first female Prime Minister from 1979-90. Focus is more on the personal than her political life seen in flashbacks and forwards which can become discombobulating, especially when the elderly Thatcher physically shows her aging body and behavior, slipping into and out of dementia when visualizing her deceased, loving husband Denis (Jim Broadbent). In various political decisions, The Lady was both scorned and revered for her judgments, with a steadfast perseverance to carry out what she believed was best for the country; her actions either emboldened the UK or caused dissension amongst the common people and her Cabinet members.
Phillida Lloyd (“Mamma Mia!”) directs the showcase for Meryl Streep’s incarnation of Thatcher via skillful make-up and accessories. It seems like a screen test as the uncanny portrayal is the centerpiece of the purposeful semi-documentary. World shaking events are included but presented less significantly as routine news events (i.e., the wrath of the IRA, & the Falklands War) in fillers to round out the representation of a complete movie.
