I've just read review after review about how this movie fails because it spends so little time on the poll tax, or how the Faukland war is glossed over, or how protesters never got that close to Thatcher's car.
I am amazed at how many film goers missed the point.
This movie was not intended to be a Biography Channel documentary on Margaret Thatcher. So why judge the movie as if it were? Those associated with the film responded to one historical inaccuracy (the lack of women in Parliament in 1979) by pointing out that this movie was from the point of view of Thatcher, not the objective observer.
Thatcher, it seems to me, was a woman of strong convictions and a bit of tunnel vision. Though far from a Thatcher expert myself, it seemed like Thatcher would view herself as a "lone beacon." Therefore, the symbolism of Maggie versus the pseudo all male House works.
Another reviewer commented on the blatant symbolism of Thatcher grabbing the wheel of the car her daughter was driving and veering it to the right. Far from being a metaphoric sledgehammer, this scene like so many in the movie, paint a portrait of a personality.
Yes, I said a personality, not necessarily a real person. Because the true point of this movie is the eternal conflict between the inner weaknesses and the inner strengths of mankind. It is why the scenes of Thatcher learning how to speak and realizing when to ditch the hat are important.
It is a study of aging, and the forces at war within a human persona. Thatcher proved to be an excellent model for this inner struggle, and from what I've seen and read, the Iron Lady (to its credit) did not stoop to revisionist history. (This is no Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer!) Despite its low scores, Streep is nearly universally praised and rightly so. The fact that this movie focuses on the aging process and its tipping of the strength versus weakness balance is NOT a bad device. In fact it is probably one of the more unique ways to portray Alzeheimers. Not just as a sad deterioration, but the more complex medical phenomenon that it truly is.
Watch the movie carefully. Look for signs of Thatcher's ease in having her stronger self battle her weaker one in her youth. See and enjoy the character progression from youth to elder.
Denis Thatchter, beyond just being good emotional balance and sparingly used comic relief, is a personification of her strongest weakness -- her disease. The ending, while ridiculed by many, is one of the best in modern memory. This is a balanced, yet caring portrait of Thatcher -- or rather a Thatcher-like personality.
In grade school, we were all taught the four essential types of conflict: Man vs Man, Man vs Society, Man vs Nature, and Man vs Self. Those who come in to this movie expecting one of the first two conceits will be legitimately disappointed. Those who grasp the notion that the movie has more in common with A Beautiful Mind than with The Queen or The King's Speech will be rewarded by seeing one of the finest stories put to film.
I am amazed at how many film goers missed the point.
This movie was not intended to be a Biography Channel documentary on Margaret Thatcher. So why judge the movie as if it were? Those associated with the film responded to one historical inaccuracy (the lack of women in Parliament in 1979) by pointing out that this movie was from the point of view of Thatcher, not the objective observer.
Thatcher, it seems to me, was a woman of strong convictions and a bit of tunnel vision. Though far from a Thatcher expert myself, it seemed like Thatcher would view herself as a "lone beacon." Therefore, the symbolism of Maggie versus the pseudo all male House works.
Another reviewer commented on the blatant symbolism of Thatcher grabbing the wheel of the car her daughter was driving and veering it to the right. Far from being a metaphoric sledgehammer, this scene like so many in the movie, paint a portrait of a personality.
Yes, I said a personality, not necessarily a real person. Because the true point of this movie is the eternal conflict between the inner weaknesses and the inner strengths of mankind. It is why the scenes of Thatcher learning how to speak and realizing when to ditch the hat are important.
It is a study of aging, and the forces at war within a human persona. Thatcher proved to be an excellent model for this inner struggle, and from what I've seen and read, the Iron Lady (to its credit) did not stoop to revisionist history. (This is no Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer!) Despite its low scores, Streep is nearly universally praised and rightly so. The fact that this movie focuses on the aging process and its tipping of the strength versus weakness balance is NOT a bad device. In fact it is probably one of the more unique ways to portray Alzeheimers. Not just as a sad deterioration, but the more complex medical phenomenon that it truly is.
Watch the movie carefully. Look for signs of Thatcher's ease in having her stronger self battle her weaker one in her youth. See and enjoy the character progression from youth to elder.
Denis Thatchter, beyond just being good emotional balance and sparingly used comic relief, is a personification of her strongest weakness -- her disease. The ending, while ridiculed by many, is one of the best in modern memory. This is a balanced, yet caring portrait of Thatcher -- or rather a Thatcher-like personality.
In grade school, we were all taught the four essential types of conflict: Man vs Man, Man vs Society, Man vs Nature, and Man vs Self. Those who come in to this movie expecting one of the first two conceits will be legitimately disappointed. Those who grasp the notion that the movie has more in common with A Beautiful Mind than with The Queen or The King's Speech will be rewarded by seeing one of the finest stories put to film.