'The Iron Lady"

The Iron Lady is an Oscar film. Aside the meticulous performance of Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, each scene is constructed to elicit an emotional response. All art is contrived but great art can misdirect and hide what it is doing. 

What makes the film work is Streep's performance. She has the voice, the mannerism and the physicality. She gives the role a humanity as we watch Lady Thatcher look back at her life. In some ways, the film makes its central characters ordinary. If it was set in North London and centred around a middle class family, this could be a Mike Leigh film. The story is more about memory, what makes a life, dealing with death and family relationships than an exploration of British politics. At times it feels major historical incidents are mere details to be got through as we rush to the next emotional punch: pity, sadness, amusement or outrage. 

If you want to understand what motivated Margaret Roberts then watch The Long Walk to Finchley. If you want to understand why senior Tories turned against her when she was Prime Minister then watch Margaret. If you want to understand what happened during the Falkland conflict then watch The Falklands Play. Sadly, The Iron Lady is not a film for people interested in politics. 

David Cameron has said that the film should have been delayed. For the Thatcher family it must feel very strange being portrayed on screen in this way. But whether we like it or not, public figures become public property. That means a writer or director can show them pretty much how they like. If the film was made a few years later it would still feel unsatisfactory despite its central performance.