The Iron Lady

Meryl Streep is The Iron Lady

I will admit that, before watching Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady, I was rooting for Michelle Williams for Best Actress Oscar for her beautiful and subtle performance as a troubled and surprisingly shy Marilyn Monroe from My Week With Marilyn. That all changed after I watched how Meryl Streep transformed herself into Margaret Thatcher in an otherwise average biopic of the first female British Prime Minister in the early 80’s through 1990.

From the early shots of her when the film focuses on the Prime Minister years after she left office and, apparently shortly after her husband’s death in 2003, we spot the weaknesses in a woman that has never allowed anybody to trample her since before she even became involved in politics, a woman so determined not to be tied down by any man, even made it quite clear to her husband Dennis Thatcher the minute after he proposed to her.

Her rise to power was no bed of roses though. In The Iron Lady we see how this remarkable woman had to learn how to become the woman she was to become: more assertive, demanding, build her presence and become even more extraordinaire than she already was. She had to face a lot of criticism and hatred from her peers as well as her enemies (and she had quite a few attempts made against her life, but she’s still alive and kicking today at 87 years of age).

The most I remember from this woman is her involvement in a war to claim (or reclaim) the Falklands islands (also known as Malvinas, in Spanish) from Argentina which was a big deal for all South Americans, it was certainly a very controversial and a test that she was put through. I actually remember hearing about this back in 1982 when Argentina occupied the islands and Margaret Thatcher decided to declare war and reclaim these islands, although I was very young at the time but I always saw her as a ruthless tyrant that wanted to “get back” islands that didn’t really belong to her to begin with that’s another Oprah all together and I frankly don’t like to discuss politics (All I gotta add to that is: Las Malvinas son Argentinas, that’s it, I’ll drop it now). What I do recall is how Argentinians and most South American countries united forces to fight the British but they ultimately lost the battle on June 1982.

SPOILER ALERT I was surprised that The Iron Lady didn’t touch many political issues during the movie and focused more on her life before, during and after being Prime Minister. I particularly like Streep as a vulnerable and troubled Margaret Thatcher, the side of her that we never got to see. She was a very dedicated woman that many times put her job ahead of her family. We see how Margaret maintains a solid conversation with her dead husband whom at first we believe is a “flashback” however we soon realize she’s really just losing her marbles and being tormented by the memory of him, maybe a sign of how much she became used to him and how he had always supported her in every way, even if he was against the idea of being married to the Prime Minister.

It was a touching and incredible performance by the chameleon known as Meryl Streep. If there’s a person that could blend in so well into many diverse characters is Streep: one year she played a nun in Doubt, then a ruthless boss of a fashion magazine in The Devil Wears Prada, next she transformed to Julia Childs in Julie & Julia and she does it with such easy that’s hard to see the real woman behind the character. I wonder what will she be picking up next, a superhero?

It’ll be interesting to see how this year’s Oscar race plays out for Best Actress spot, Meryl faces some strong contenders this year vary from Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn), Viola Davis (The Help), Glen Close (Albert Nobbs), Rooney Mara (The Girl With Dragon Tattoo), Charlize Theron (Young Adult) or even Kristen Wiig for Bridesmaids (furthest chance, all of which have had a chance at the Golden Globes but we’re still yet to see the nominees for the Oscars (which should be pretty soon now). So I keep my fingers crossed for Michelle but I wouldn’t doubt for one minute that Meryl Streep will pull the rug under her feet this year. Nobody messes with this (Iron) Lady.