Who here agrees the Meryl Streep is an outstanding actress? I personally like her a lot. Its taken me a while to get to watch this movie which earned her an Oscar in 2012 for Best Actress.
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Cast: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Alexandra Roach, Harry Lloyd, Olivia Colman
This drama is retelling the story of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), the first and only female prime minister in United Kingdom. It starts by showing the life that she is living as a old woman after her husband has passed away. As she gains back her balance of being by herself, she flashes back constantly to herself as a young grocer’s daughter (Alexandra Roach) and her father who was a political figure where she grew up. We see her start from nothing, step by step to how she struggled through gender barriers in a male dominant society to become a political figure. A good part of this was with her husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent) supporting her. Even after she became a political figure, we saw her how she remained tough and stuck to her principle of “Never Compromise” as she fought problem after problem. She looks back at her life as she has to learn to slowly let go of her husband and his belongings while being trapped in her house under doctor and her daughter Carol’s (Olivia Colman) orders.
Honestly, I don’t know much about Margaret Thatcher so I can’t really say if anything she did matched it up. I could research it and see, but part of this is entertainment to me. I’m not big with politics, I’m actually really not interested with it. I would still be able to express an opinion on the Canada politics but I try to keep that part private and separate from here. So if you’ve seen this and you know extensively about this subject, and some of these events are FAR from the real thing, then you can share that with me. I’ve love to know 🙂 With that said, I remained indifferent throughout the movie as a good part of the movie, I didn’t really feel like it resounded too much to me. Its probably because of its heavy political connotations. I was able to connect it to the current government in Canada so…that had a certain effect on me as well. But thats as far as I’ll say.
The best part of this movie is Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher and Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher. They really carried this movie and I felt that they really brought out the good of this movie. Their story was possibly a lot more moving to watch than the political life that Margaret Thatcher had. Most politicians will win some and lose some and hers was exactly the same. However, Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent had a very good connection in this as husband and wife. As she became more elderly, we could feel her struggle to let go of him and therefore, she talked to him and kept him as a companion even if he was just a ghost.
Was I extremely impressed with the movie? Not very much as a whole. However, I was very amazed with Meryl Streep’s performance. She portrayed a strong woman who rose up very well. She was tough, and the way she changed the way she looked to fit her character left me in awe. For a moment, I doubted that it was actually her. I also learned a bit more about Margaret Thatcher, whether or not its the complete truth I will find time to read up on it, but Meryl Streep played a fantastic role. Jim Broadbent helped relax the tone of the movie with his dialogue here and there and it gave the movie a slight balance. Because I really enjoyed Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent, I would recommend this.
I find it hard to review history and political movies, mostly because my knowledge is limited. Although, these movies are also ones that open up the horizon to understand more about other countries and their stories.
What historical or political movie do you like the most?
Tranquil Dreams 