The Iron Lady
Winter 2012 Features series
Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 4:00pm
Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 7:00pm
Acadia Cinema's Al Whittle Theatre
450 Main Street, Wolfville, NS
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Screenplay by Abi Morgan
Starring Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, and Richard E. Grant
Rated NR ·
1h 45m
United Kingdom
English
The Iron Lady
Reuniting director Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!) with screen legend Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia, Doubt), The Iron Lady is a surprising and intimate portrait of British political icon Margaret Thatcher – the first and only female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Written by award-winning screenwriter Abi Morgan (Shame), the film offers a look at the life of the political powerhouse, her rise to leadership and the price she paid for power.
Arguably one of the 20th century’s most famous and influential women, Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep) came from nowhere to smash through barriers of gender and class to make her mark in a male dominated world. Unconventional in every sense, her voice, her attire, and her gender made her the unlikeliest of candidates to represent a nation. After marrying Denis Thatcher (Jim Broadbent, Another Year, The Damned United) and retraining as a barrister, Thatcher reinvented herself, and with the help of political strategist Gordon Reece (Roger Allam, Tamara Drewe, The Queen) contrived a posh upgrade to her former accent. A determined woman, Thatcher softened her voice significantly to sound less impertinent, subsequently helping her to get elected into office – and stay elected.
While there has been some controversy about casting an American as a British Prime Minister, Meryl Streep is known for her ability to imitate foreign and domestic accents. Already considered a guarantee for a Best Actress nomination at the 84th Academy Awards, Streep approaches the role with as much zeal, fervour and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher.