Coming up next we have 2011's "The Iron Lady", a biopic of the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher. The film focuses on some key moments during her tenure as Prime Minister, as well as some of the events that catapulted her into that office.
The film's cast includes Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Iain Glen, Alexandra Roach, Harry Lloyd, Olivia Colman, Nicholas Farrell, Roger Allam, Richard E. Grant, Pip Torrens, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
In her later years, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher appears to be struggling. Her husband, Dennis, passed away a few years earlier. However, she can still see his ghost.
It's very apparent that she is losing her grip on reality. Margaret herself senses this, and fights to stay in control of her sanity.
She has been thinking a lot lately about Dennis, and particularly about a song they both enjoyed, "Shall We Dance".
Margaret spends a lot of time reminiscing. She also has been busy signing copies of her newly published autobiography.
Occasionally, she hosts dinner parties, where the guests talk about current events. Margaret gets sidetracked as her mind wanders to earlier days and memories.
But when she is brought back to the conversation, Margaret's every word is listened to, and her guests are in awe of her incredible eloquence.
We are told in flashbacks of how Margaret first met her husband, Dennis, and the romance that ensued.
We also learn how Margaret sacrificed her family life in order to be of service to her country by entering Parliament.
As the years go by, Margaret becomes more and more influential within the Conservative Party, eventually becoming its leader.
She is approached about running for a higher office, and with that she is asked to change several things about her appearance. Her reply? "Gentlemen, I am in your hands. I may be persuaded to surrender the hat, but the pearls were a
gift from my husband on the birth of our twins, and...um...they are
absolutely non-negotiable," she says with authority.
Margaret embarks on a series of lessons that will make her more appealing to the voters.
The lessons achieve their purpose when Margaret is duly elected Prime Minister, the first female to hold that office in the history of the British nation.
With Denis by her side, Margaret arrives at No. 10 Downing Street to begin her tenure as Prime Minister.
To begin things, she recites the Prayer for Peace by St. Francis of Assisi, and then poses for a photograph with the rest of her government.
Margaret begins to put the "Great" back in Great Britain, seeing the country through a recession, the Falklands conflict, and the strengthening of the economy. However, by the end of her time in office, she becomes unpopular because of her stance on various issues, and she decides to resign. She leaves No. 10 with tears in her eyes.
Back in the present, Margaret decides to take control of her sanity by telling Denis's ghost that it's time for him to go. "If I can't hear you, I can't see you. If I can't see you, you're not here.And if you're not here, I'm not going
mad.I will not go mad," she says. He leaves, though Margaret watches him go with tears streaming down her face.
Nicholas Farrell...............................Airey Neave
Roger Allam...................................Gordon Reece
Richard E. Grant.............................Michael Heseltine
Pip Torrens....................................Sir Ian Gilmour
Phoebe Waller-Bridge......................Susie
And that's it for The Iron Lady. Though the film received mixed reviews, Meryl Streep's performance was widely acclaimed, and she won her third Academy Award for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher. Many critics considered the role one of the greatest of her career. To prepare for the role, Streep attended sessions of the House of Commons so she could observe British MPs at their work.
One of my favorite scenes in the film comes when an older Margaret is getting a checkup at the doctor's office. He asks her how she is feeling. She responds, "Do you know, one of the great problems of our age is that we are governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas." When the doctor asks her what she is thinking, she says those famous words, "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."
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