A Lazy Lady

by Thomas Willett

11:00pm PST, January 17, 2011

Over the years, cinema has shown a lot of love for British royalty. This can best be seen in last year’s Oscar winner The King’s Speech, in which King George VI overcomes a speech impediment. What is it about the British monarchy that creates this fascination? Is it the accents, the scenery, or something deeper? From what has been seen, there hasn’t been too much to justify this phenomenon. This continues with director Phyllidia Lloyd’s The Iron Lady.

The story follows Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep) as she reflects on her life from a simple shop-keep to the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. While it starts off as a story meant to praise the power of women, it evolves into a more typical story of a leader and a society that dislikes her. If there is a central flaw, it’s that there is never an emotional attachment developed. This is most likely due to the beliefs of Thatcher in not mixing business with personal thoughts. It also creates a repressed character that appears to accomplish a lot, but leaves little to care about.

It is to be expected that Streep can deliver a great performance. Giving all her effort, she helps raise the movie with but a simple, charming accent. Her dedication shines in scenes where she is yelling at the congress with passionately worded phrases. Otherwise her range feels somewhat limited as the story progresses and requires her to be more restrictive. As a result, the movie fluctuates in quality, never setting a consistent tone and not really establishing a singular reason to give a damn.

However, if there is one shining star, it is Jim Broadbent, who plays Thatcher’s husband Dennis. While he comes across as insignificant to most of the story, the chemistry between Broadbent and Streep is excellent. His playful torment brings a comical touch and brings some humanity to a story destined to be an inauthentic history lesson. One can only wish that the writers would have realized his character and centered the plot around their relationship to make for a better story. For the most part, the emotional climax feels underwhelming due to the emotional limitations of the main character.

The one achievement of the film and its story is that it’s edited very well. After the chaotic work of J. Edgar, it’s nice to see a nonlinear story told in a way that doesn’t distract from the narrative. It presents each event in a clever way and ties in perfectly to the next scene. There is also actual news footage spliced in that helps to develop a more authentic vibe to the flashbacks. The score by Thomas Newman also provides vivacious energy that makes the parliament scenes feel lively and fun.

However, due to an unorganized tone, it is hard to see this as more than a movie about Margaret Thatcher. It doesn’t respect the subject well enough to develop as more than a retrospective spanning her 21 year career. Streep does the best she can to deliver writer Abi Morgan’s dense script in an entertaining fashion. The result is a forgettable, generic drama that says little.

The Iron Lady is a reminder that British politicians are just as interesting as American ones. It all depends on who is writing the story and what route is taken. If there is nothing interesting to say, why tell the story? Margaret Thatcher sounds like an interesting woman, but this plays as nothing but a survey of everything she did without the significance. It also sacrifices human elements as a result and leaves everything feeling cold. Despite good editing and a fantastic Jim Broadbent, there is little to restore faith that every British politician deserves a biopic starring an over qualified American actress portraying her.