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Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Harry Lloyd, Anthony Head, Alexandra Roach ... see more see more... , Roger Allam , Richard E. Grant , Susan Brown , Olivia Colman , Nicholas Farrell , Eloise Webb , Pip Torrens , Julian Wadham , Angus Wright , Nick Dunning , Michael Maloney , Iain Glen , Michael Pennington , Amanda Root , David Westhead , Alice Da Cunha , Phoebe Waller-Bridge , Victoria Bewick , Emma Dewhurst , Sylvestra Le Touzel , Michael Culkin , Stephanie Jacob , Robert Portal , Richard M. Dixon , Clifford Rose , Michael Cochrane , Jeremy Clyde , Michael Simkins , Alexander Beardsley , John Sessions , Richard Syms , John Harding , Simon Chandler , Stephen Boxer , Jasper Jacob , Rupert Vansittart , Robin Kermode , Andrew Havill , Michael Elwyn , Peter Pacey , Jeremy Child , James Smith , Hugh Ross , Chris Campbell , Paul Bentley , Martin Wimbush , Simon Slater , David Cann , Christopher Luscombe , Angela Curran , David Rintoul , Nicholas Jones , Richard Goulding , Matthew Marsh , Willie Jonah

The Iron Lady is a surprising and intimate portrait of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), the first and only female Prime Minister of The United Kingdom. One of the 20th century's most famous and influ... read more read more...ential women, Thatcher came from nowhere to smash through barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male dominated world. -- (C) Weinstein

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52% liked it

37,998 ratings

Critics

53% liked it

195 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 44 min.

Directed by: Phyllida Lloyd

Release Date: January 13, 2012

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DVD Release Date: April 10, 2012

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Flixster Reviews (2,729)

  • spielberg00
    May 19, 2012
    spielberg00
    When I hear the word âladyâÂ?, the image of Kate Winsletâ(TM)s character in TITANIC comes to mind. You know, someone who is overall quite respectful, but also feels she deserves a high level of respect. Put the word âironâÂ? in front of it, and my definition is undermined. T... read morehe title made me curious about what the film would be like. Allow me to say that by some standards, Margaret Thatcher (or at least the way Meryl Streep portrayed her) was a lady, but she only meets half of the forenamed definition. In other words, she appears a niggardly woman who desires nothing but respect, whilst giving no respect to her people. Meryl is what makes this seriously underwhelming picture watchable. With the strong resemblance she bears to Thatcher, combined with the flawless performance and 100% transformation into her character, itâ(TM)s possible that one of her great, attention-demanding speeches here could pass for archive footage of the real Margaret Thatcher.

    Had this film excluded Meryl, or used anyone but her, it would have failed miserably. I canâ(TM)t argue with the fashion here, because it is based on history, but I can argue with the fashion in which it was presented. We just donâ(TM)t get enough time seeing Thatcher as Prime Minister of Great Britain. So much time is spent on her old age and her state of dementia that the end seems sudden, even after an hour and forty-five minutes. Furthermore, the presentation of her dementia was a misfire. The intent was most likely to be effective, but instead these scenes went overboard. Often times, I thought I was watching a psychological horror movie, due to the odd lighting, subtle music, and audio editing. Itâ(TM)s a figure of speech when people say an actor or actress âcarried the movieâ�, but here this is taken to a whole new level. In fact, I couldnâ(TM)t spot anything here other than Meryl that could make this film so engaging, beyond all the noticeable flaws.

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    http://themoviefreakblog.com/review-the-iron-lady
  • hobster1
    May 9, 2012
    hobster1
    The Iron Lady is flawed. There's a very good film contained within, but I suspect some of it is on the cutting room floor. Margaret Thatcher's political pursuits are where this shines. Some judicious editing could have taken this to the next level. I'm reminded of another Meryl S... read moretreep vehicle. Julie & Julia was a good movie - whenever the chronicle focused on Julia Child, that is. So too is The Iron Lady a superior production whenever Margaret Thatcher is the tenacious leader of Great Britain. The agreeable matriarch of the present simply diminishes dramatic tension whenever things starts to escalate. Perhaps that's the contradictory perspective director Phyllida Lloyd wanted to relate, but Thatcher's energizing display as an obstinate firebrand of the past is so much more engaging. Meryl Streep deserves a lot of recognition for her singular performance, the story - not so much.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    April 15, 2012
    TheDudeLebowski65
    The Iron Lady is a terrific portrait of female British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Though not a perfect portrait of Thatcher, this film has a stunning performance by Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher. Brilliantly acted and directed. Although the film could have focused a lo... read moret more on Thatcher's life, the run time of this film is pretty short. I thought that Streep's performance made this film great. The film although not perfect, got some key moments in Thatcher's rule down pretty well. Her portrayal of a historical figure equals that of Colin Firth's portrayal of King George Vi in The King's Speech. I thought that Meryl Streep's performance made this film more interesting, and worth seeing. The Iron Lady is flawed, but with a great cast, it makes for a great film to watch. The film does a great job at telling the story of the first and only female British Prime Minister. I very much enjoyed this film, and thought it was a great portrayal of Thatcher. The films story was good, but needed a little work to make it stand out. For the most part, I didn't mind this because the film was interesting enough due to Meryl Streep's performance that I was able to overlook its faults. I just felt there could have been a little more detail in the film due to the fact that Margaret Thatcher is an important figure. Brilliantly acted and directed, The Iron Lady is a must see film that despite its imperfections has one of the most memorable performances that I've seen in quite some time.
  • fb1563632850
    April 11, 2012
    fb1563632850
    want to see it
  • ceWEBrity
    April 1, 2012
    ceWEBrity
    Mostly tedious biopic slog livened by a few discordant, odd formal elements. The dementia framing livens it more than most in its genre, but leaves the movie feeling subjective and slight and without much of a stance of its own.
  • MidnightMadwoman
    March 23, 2012
    MidnightMadwoman
    I was really really disappointed by this movie. I thought it was going to be about the political career of the first female British PM and show her in all her hardnosed, hardline and conservative glory. What we actually get is a befuddled old English lady, a shell of her former s... read moreelf, who slips into the past as she loses her grip on her present reality. The movie dwells so long on the least interesting incarnation of the character that it leaves out everything I wanted to see. Meryl Streep made the best of what she was given and is always a pleasure to watch, but this incomplete character study seemed like a waste of her. They introduce a sunny and delightful character who isn't there, and fails to delve any deeper into any of Thatcher's relationships. You never get to see her bond with anyone. I think this movie would have benefitted greatly from a zoom out and a better sense of focus. I hate to say it, but this movie was every bit as boring as 12 year olds suspect it is, and as boring as I thought it couldn't be.
  • CloudStrife84
    February 26, 2012
    CloudStrife84
    Meryl Streep - what an actress! Her spellbinding turn as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, is the one and true reason why you should see this film. Not that it doesn't have other virtues, but I don't think it would have been half as good as it is if it wasn't for h... read moreer. I was rather impressed by Alexandra Roach as well, who both looked and sounded the part as Thatcher in her younger years. Now, to be perfectly frank, I don't have much interest in politics (I've actually gone and confused Thatcher with Madeleine Albright up until now, which should tell you something to that fact), but this was quite a captivating portrait of one of Great Britain's most controversial and famous political figures. There is an unnecessary amount of time spent on trivia and the mental hallucinations of our leading lady, but I was still fully absorbed by it and enjoyed it all the way. I was actually surprised to see so many mediocre ratings, for although a little off in places, I thought it to be a well-conceived biopic. As mentioned, however, most of that is owed to Streep, who is undeniably strong as iron in her pitch-perfect performance. If she doesn't get the Oscar for Best Actress, something is seriously unfair. Because this, if anything, has earned her the right to bring home that golden statue. A bravura display of the highest order, by one of the world's most gifted stars. You might not agree with Thatcher's politics, but I can pledge you will agree on this being a worthwhile watch.
  • blacksheepboy
    February 23, 2012
    blacksheepboy
    Apart from Streep's spectacular performance, nothing else works in this terrible biopic, which is so badly written and directed. A disjointed mess that makes use of illogical narrative elements (the whole schizophrenia thing is unbelievable) and tries to soften the image of the c... read moreharacter in a completely artificial way.
  • fb701560354
    February 22, 2012
    fb701560354
    Meryl Streep is absolutely incredible as Margaret Thatcher, having mastered the accent, quirks, and style perfectly, but on the other hand, the film itself is not a complete triumph. Phyllida Lloyd has chosen to structure this film similarly to La Vie en Rose where the story is ... read moretold as flashbacks. In La Vie en Rose, this method is effective and moving, but here it just serves as a checklist of the most important events in Thatcher's career which becomes muddled and confusing. After a slow and somewhat boring first half, the film picks up the pace and gets deeper into the story allowing the audience to become involved and care about the characters. What doesn't help that process though, is the fact that the film doesn't really know what it wants to say about Thatcher, who was such a controversial political figure; loved by some, despised by others. I can understand the fear of trying to portray one view of Thatcher and not the other, but at least say something. I came away feeling like she was somewhat of a hypocrite and failed to do what she so strongly strived for in life. Maybe it was supposed to be that way as a depiction of her struggle against dementia, which was accurate if you ask me. Dementia is a horrible thing; worse I think than cancer, but Thatcher never lost her political side which provided some mild comic relief. Abi Morgan's screenplay was fairly well written, but it could definitely have been better as there were moments when I thought "How staged is that?", or "That was awkward...". The Iron Lady is worth the price of admission to see the impeccable Meryl Streep, but the film just gets bogged down and muddled trying to get all the big and important events fit into the film, and if the career of Maggie was presented in a different format, I feel the audience may have connected to Thatcher more and it would have been much more moving at the end. The Iron Lady she was.
  • fb100000145236770
    February 15, 2012
    fb100000145236770
    "Iron Lady is a movie starring Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher. The first and only female prime minister of England. I expected a film about her as the minister, but it's more than that. It's a movie about Thatcher in her later years, living a lonely life, often hallucinatin... read moreg with visions of her dead husband. While reflecting on her life and career in politics. She's ultra conservative, which I'm considered a liberal by some, so I didn't quite care of her political views, but it never goes too overboard into her politics. Streep is amazing, and often times you forget your watching Streep. But, Streep is the only good thing about the movie as a whole. It's slow, the story is jumbled, and other than Streep the performances aren't really that great. Watch for Streep, but keep your expectations low. Unless, your into slow British quasi political movies, then it's right up your alley.

View All The Iron Lady Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
March 23, 2012
Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Streep's performance of a dismissive line such as "People don't think anymore, they feel," will have even the most dyed-in-the-wool liberal questioning core beliefs. Full Review

Tom Long
January 13, 2012
Tom Long, Detroit News

Yes, Streep is wondrous as usual, but her superpowers have been squandered here. Full Review

January 13, 2012
Globe and Mail

The Iron Lady is a performance in search of a film. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
January 13, 2012
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Often "The Iron Lady" relies on montages to get to - and plow through - historic high points. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
January 13, 2012
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

[Streep's] performance overpowers the movie it's in - a perfectly executed triple axel that renders everything else just featureless ice. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
January 12, 2012
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Streep's performance is so true and so uncannily accurate, so full and so complete in its understanding, that she is fascinating every second she is onscreen. Full Review

J. R. Jones
January 12, 2012
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Streep, no fan of Thatcher, nicely undercuts the poignancy of her current condition with flashbacks that reveal her brittle arrogance in office. Full Review

Wesley Morris
January 12, 2012
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

Everything Streep does here is a seismic act of theater. If she so much as tilts her head, the earth tilts with it. She doesn't simply overwhelm this thin historic biography - and the other actors aro... Full Review

Steven Rea
January 12, 2012
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

The portrait that Streep delivers in Phyllida Lloyd's impressionistic biopic is astonishing. Full Review

Bill Goodykoontz
January 12, 2012
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

A stylized biography of one of the most powerful women in politics, portrayed by the greatest actress of our time, that asks more questions than it answers. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Denis Thatcher: Yes, the medicine is harsh, but the patient requires it in order to live. Should we withhold the medicine? No.
    • Margaret Thatcher: If you take the tough decisions, people will hate you today, but they will love you in generations.
    • Margaret Thatcher: If you take the tough decisions, people will hate you today, but they will love you in generations.
    • Margaret Thatcher: I don't intend to die washing a teacup. [recall that the end of the film she washes a teacup and walks away]
    • Margaret Thatcher: Watch your thoughts, for they become words.Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. What we think, we become. My father always said that. And I think I am fine.
    • Denis Thatcher: You can rewind your past as much as you like but you can't change it.
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