Post by rmichaelpyle on Feb 21, 2012 13:24:58 GMT -6
Went to the theater a week or so ago and watched "The Iron Lady" (2011) with Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher. One of the finest biographical films I've ever watched. Streep as Thatcher is simply uncannily great!! She IS Maggie. I once bought a couple of tickets for my wife and me to go listen to Maggie Thatcher speak at a college nearby, but I couldn't go, so I had to let my sister have the ticket. She and my wife went. Well, my wife said that watching the film was much like watching what she saw at the college! Also in this film are Jim Broadbent as Denis, Mrs. Thatcher's husband, Alexandra Roach as young Mrs. Thatcher, Harry Lloyd as young Denis Thatcher, Olivia Colman as Carol Thatcher, Mrs. Thatcher's daughter, and a cast of very, very familiar British actors who you've all seen for years on Masterpiece Theater or in a variety of PBS Mystery shows. Included are Nicholas Farrell, John Sessions, Richard Grant, Iain Glen (currently in "Downton Abbey"), and Matthew Marsh as Alexander Haig. The film is beautifully directed by Phyllida Lloyd, the same director who helmed Meryl Streep in "Mamma Mia!" (2008): obviously the two work well together. Lloyd is a noted theater director, especially of opera. Her work in film is only recent.
The hero of the film, though, is Justine Wright. If the name means nothing, that would not be a surprise. She's the editor. This film - "The Iron Lady" - has to be the single finest edited film I've ever watched!! Many are the films I've watched over the years that could have been much, much better had they only been edited in a better fashion. Some films are utterly destroyed by bad editing. Well, this film is made because of it. Well acted, superbly directed, but edited with genius! Much like an emotional roller coaster ride, this film bounces back and forth between the now and the past and in-between and the now again and... Had this been a lateral step by step progressional film it possibly would have had much less impact. Instead, as viewers we are intensely involved with the context because we feel we're inside the head of Mrs. Thatcher as she lives either in the present or the past. Kudos to director and editor.
It is no secret that, when her husband Denis died, Maggie Thatcher began to fall apart. This film, though with moments of dramatic fiction added to give the feelings that must have occurred (and may still be occurring), allows us to witness the incredibly sensitive moments that have come about since Thatcher's husband's death. The entire film is centered around these things, the deterioration and the not so gentle lapse into dementia. The scene where her dead husband goes away from her near the end - no, this is not science fiction - is overwhelmingly moving.
Go see it if you have the chance. Just a side note: the authentic footage of events that occurred during her administration of Prime Minister are not always for the squeamish! I made the comment at an earlier time after having seen "The Help" that two of those actresses deserved the Academy Award for "Best Actress". Each was superlative. Well, Meryl Streep goes a step farther in this film. She gives one of the finest performances I've ever seen, and I think it would be a miscarriage of justice if she doesn't get the award - again - for this performance.
The hero of the film, though, is Justine Wright. If the name means nothing, that would not be a surprise. She's the editor. This film - "The Iron Lady" - has to be the single finest edited film I've ever watched!! Many are the films I've watched over the years that could have been much, much better had they only been edited in a better fashion. Some films are utterly destroyed by bad editing. Well, this film is made because of it. Well acted, superbly directed, but edited with genius! Much like an emotional roller coaster ride, this film bounces back and forth between the now and the past and in-between and the now again and... Had this been a lateral step by step progressional film it possibly would have had much less impact. Instead, as viewers we are intensely involved with the context because we feel we're inside the head of Mrs. Thatcher as she lives either in the present or the past. Kudos to director and editor.
It is no secret that, when her husband Denis died, Maggie Thatcher began to fall apart. This film, though with moments of dramatic fiction added to give the feelings that must have occurred (and may still be occurring), allows us to witness the incredibly sensitive moments that have come about since Thatcher's husband's death. The entire film is centered around these things, the deterioration and the not so gentle lapse into dementia. The scene where her dead husband goes away from her near the end - no, this is not science fiction - is overwhelmingly moving.
Go see it if you have the chance. Just a side note: the authentic footage of events that occurred during her administration of Prime Minister are not always for the squeamish! I made the comment at an earlier time after having seen "The Help" that two of those actresses deserved the Academy Award for "Best Actress". Each was superlative. Well, Meryl Streep goes a step farther in this film. She gives one of the finest performances I've ever seen, and I think it would be a miscarriage of justice if she doesn't get the award - again - for this performance.
