The Iron Lady, released last weekend, is a film about Margaret Thatcher, the former British Prime Minister once dubbed 'The iron Lady' by the Soviets. But it is also, or perhaps principally, a study in old age, the onset of dementia, and grief. The camera frequently lingers on the elderly face of Margaret Thatcher (played outstandingly by Mery Streep), and we watch as incomprehension, confusion, or sudden moments of clarity, are played out in the movements of her eyes, the suck of a lip, or the tilt of the head. Streep captures very poignantly the decline of old age, as we see her try to buy a pint of milk in a busy newsagent, or try to work a DVD player, everything is there - the shuffling gait of the elderly, the gripping of a chair back here, a door frame there, the slight swaying when she pauses.
It is a film crafted from, and relying wholly upon the fundamental elements of movie making. The camera is mostly still, yet the scenes are composed and lit with great precision. There are no (obvious) lapses in to CGI, only one explosion requiring of the use of special effects, no sweeping vistas, no grand melodies played to move the audience where the scene is weak. Most of the time there are only one or two actors in camera, and most of the locations are intimate and tightly bounded - a sitting room, around a dinner table, or in a polling station. Yet with these simple uncomplicated elements a tale is told of an elderly lady finally coming to terms with death, loss and her own old age. The lady just happened to be a former Prime Minister.
In tone and simplicity, Iron Lady compares well with 'The Queen', where Helen Mirren plays Elizabeth II, or with 'The King's Speech', where Colin Firth plays the man who became King George VI. All three rely heavily and successfully on the ability of the principal character to animate his or her face before the camera. But also like them, Iron Lady is not a film to watch to learn much about 20th century political history, or about the rise and fall of a Prime Minister. For such learning and insight one would turn elsewhere. But having said that, there is one particularly amusing moment, where, at the heart of the Falklands Crisis, Mrs Thatcher is explaining to Al Haig, the US negotiator and intermediary, that Britian will not be negotiating with the Argentinian Junta (characteristically pronounced with a hard 'J'). He counters with the observation that the Falklands are small, remote, and have few inhabitants, to which Mrs Thatcher asks him whether the US would negotiate if someone invaded Hawaii ? - the expression on Haig's face is priceless.
So, a film worth watching I'd say.
It is a film crafted from, and relying wholly upon the fundamental elements of movie making. The camera is mostly still, yet the scenes are composed and lit with great precision. There are no (obvious) lapses in to CGI, only one explosion requiring of the use of special effects, no sweeping vistas, no grand melodies played to move the audience where the scene is weak. Most of the time there are only one or two actors in camera, and most of the locations are intimate and tightly bounded - a sitting room, around a dinner table, or in a polling station. Yet with these simple uncomplicated elements a tale is told of an elderly lady finally coming to terms with death, loss and her own old age. The lady just happened to be a former Prime Minister.
In tone and simplicity, Iron Lady compares well with 'The Queen', where Helen Mirren plays Elizabeth II, or with 'The King's Speech', where Colin Firth plays the man who became King George VI. All three rely heavily and successfully on the ability of the principal character to animate his or her face before the camera. But also like them, Iron Lady is not a film to watch to learn much about 20th century political history, or about the rise and fall of a Prime Minister. For such learning and insight one would turn elsewhere. But having said that, there is one particularly amusing moment, where, at the heart of the Falklands Crisis, Mrs Thatcher is explaining to Al Haig, the US negotiator and intermediary, that Britian will not be negotiating with the Argentinian Junta (characteristically pronounced with a hard 'J'). He counters with the observation that the Falklands are small, remote, and have few inhabitants, to which Mrs Thatcher asks him whether the US would negotiate if someone invaded Hawaii ? - the expression on Haig's face is priceless.
So, a film worth watching I'd say.
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