By Chad Utke
There are few people working in the film industry that command as much attention as Meryl Streep does. Her stellar filmography showcases, quite possibly, the greatest actress of the past two generations. With two Academy Awards for Best Actress under her belt and a number of nominations (16 in total) over the span of the last 30 years, Streep digs in deeper than ever as she portrays former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. In the film, she gives a performance that reminds us why she is so highly regarded as the master of her craft.
Streep herself is nearly unrecognizable as she winds the audience through a biographical re-telling of the woman who changed the face of British politics. Her attention to detail is what sets her apart from her acting counterparts — furrowed brows that tell a mood, vocal stylings that change with precision as her character develops and ‘hmm’s that rival the emotion of eloquent lines of dialogue all serve to engage the viewer in the life of the film’s protagonist.
The story is told through the memories of an elderly Thatcher, focusing on the battles she faced regarding gender and class as she climbed her way through the political ranks. As her health begins to fail, Thatcher begins to indulge in hallucinations of her deceased husband Denis (Jim Broadbent). His illusory presence highlights the contrast between the staunch outer appearance of the woman known as ‘The Iron Lady’ with the vulnerable side found in an older woman forced to relive personal memories as a means of dealing with the loss of her closest companion.