- John Huxford,
ISU assistant professor
When it comes to politics, Britain has been responsible for some of the strongest woman in history.
Figures like Queen Elizabeth I have already had the Hollywood treatment, with historically dubious but glamorous accounts of their more memorable triumphs and tragedies. Now Meryl Streep has added Britain’s first female Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to the list.
Directed by Phillida Lloyd, "The Iron Lady" offers a brief but insightful look into Thatcher’s career, exploits, and personal life. It spans the time spent in her father’s grocery store, to her years as Educational Secretary and Prime Minister, and the dotage of her decline.
Thatcher’s character within the film sets the pace with a steady swelling of courage and power. The images from her personal life and time in government help to cast a cold, inconsiderate figure for which most audiences will have little affection.
Iron Lady timeline
Helping Streep fill the role of Lady Thatcher is Alexandra Roach, who plays a younger version of her character. Margaret’s husband Denis Thatcher, played by Jim Broadbent, helps to establish a moving performance overall within the multi-tiered story arcs.
For her performance in "The Iron Lady," Streep has received several Best Actress awards, including the 2011 New York Film Critic Circle Award and a Golden Globe. She has also been nominated for an Oscar.
Yet despite these accolades, the movie has been panned by many critics, who argue that the film’s cinematic narrative overlooks or exaggerates certain aspects of Thatcher’s time in Parliament, creating political controversy.
Some even go so far as to question the director’s ethical decision to portray the older Thatcher as delusional and timeworn.
ISU Assistant Professor John Huxford was a journalist in Britain during Thatcher’s reign, and reported on many of the events featured in "The Iron Lady," including the inner-city riots and the year-long Miners’ Strike. He agrees with much of the criticism that has been leveled at the movie.
“Personally, I seldom liked Margaret Thatcher’s policies – I have no real affection for the woman,“ he says. “Even so, it seems like very bad form to portray the character as senile while the real Thatcher is still alive.”
An important moment in the movie is the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands, which were British territory.
When asked how the people of Britain viewed Thatcher’s actions at that time, Professor Huxford replied, “I covered it for my newspaper from the home front. There was a lot of support for the war. The concern wasn’t so much about the loss of the Falklands as it was the fear that it might encourage invasions of other British colonies, including Gibraltar. A lot of people felt Britain had to be seen to make a stand.”
Stuart Jeffries of The Guardian argues that that "The Iron Lady" overlooks the actual damage Thatcher dealt to Great Britain’s economy. Doctor Huxford agrees.
“Yes, it’s probably true. The narrative of the film is Thatcher standing strong against the Unions. Certainly it’s true that she curbed the unions, which many saw as having grown too powerful. Yet in doing so, she devastated whole swathes of Britain’s heavy industry. The mining industry, which suffered the worst, never really recovered from Thatcher’s cutbacks.”
One of the final scenes in the movie shows Thatcher’s growing separation from the rest of her cabinet, leading to her eventual downfall. Many believe this was due to her disapproval of the proposed integration of European currency, but Dr. Huxford suggests that there were other factors at work.
“It’s actually a bit more complicated than that. To an extent, the European issue was used as a pretext by the Conservative Party to get rid of Thatcher," he says.
“Her popularity in the country was at an all-time low, and it had become obvious that if the Conservatives wanted to win the next election, she would have to go before then. The Iron Lady had become a liability.”