THE IRON LADY FEATURES BURNOUT AT #10
Only three prime ministers have portraits at #10 Downing Street—David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, and Margaret Thatcher. All three won wars. In her case, the Falklands War, also known as the Malvinas War. And, midway in The Iron Lady, her conduct of the war becomes a paradigm for her stewardship as the long longest servicing (11½ years) prime minister in 20th century Britain. But the film flashes back and forth in three time periods. The earliest is in 1951, when a 26-year-old Oxford-educated Margaret Roberts (then played by Alexandra Roach), seeks to run as a Conservative in a solid Labour district. Her boyfriend, Denis Thatcher (then played by Harry Lloyd), cheers her on, though she loses. When he proposes marriage, she warns him that she will not retire to housekeeping, and he responds that he is marrying her precisely for that reason. Much of the film focuses on their subsequent delightful relationship (though the film fails to note that he had a nervous breakdown in 1964 and retired to serve on the board of two corporations until 1975, when Margaret was elected to head the Conservative Party). As Margaret Thatcher (now played by Meryl Street), spouse of a millionaire (Denis is played in her parliamentary years by Jim Broadbent), she runs again in 1959 and wins in the safe Finchley district. After her encounter with sexist members of parliament and friendship with others who are eager to support her, the film then jumps to a little after 1970, when she becomes Minister of Education (though the film fails to mention that she accelerated the transition from dead-end elementary schools for the less able to the current system of open enrollment in secondary schools for all). As the British economy declines in the 1970s, the film focuses on her frustration over the failure of her Cabinet colleagues to embrace the remedy that seems obvious to her—crack down on trade unions and cut government spending. Although the film does not mention that the Conservatives were defeated in 1974 elections, the next focus is on her decision is to run for Conservative Party leader, defeating incumbent Edward Heath. Then she is elected Prime Minister in 1979 after five years of Labour rule. It would have been exciting to see her perform as Opposition leader during parliamentary question periods during 1974-1979, but she definitely shines as Prime Minister during a contentious exchange, demonstrating her brilliance in extemporaneous debate. Her decision to launch a response to Argentina’s aggression in the Falklands in 1982 is perhaps the most memorable in the film, as her Cabinet seems squeamish, and she even appears to push the military into acting quickly and vigorously. After writing condolences to Brits who die in the war, she capitalizes on the victory to bolster her image and rides the nationalist wave to oppose British entry into the European Union in 1988. But her support for a small flat tax in 1989 proves nearly fatal, provoking the largest riots in England of the 20th century; although bombings occur throughout her political career, this time the target is #10 Downing Street. The film then seeks to explain why she was ousted as prime minister in 1990 by portraying a Cabinet meeting in which she berates the Deputy Prime Minister so severely that he resigns. Two party members contest her reelection as party leader, whereupon she agrees to step down to avoid a humiliating defeat. Her tearful exit from #10 is one of many emotional moments in the film. Throughout, we view the third chronological time period—her dementia in retirement. Director Phyllida Lloyd wants filmviewers to attribute her current reclusive life to the loss of her husband, who died in 2003. But, based on the amazing biopic, some Democrats may fear that Republicans will apply what they learn from her success to their quest for victory in the 2012 election. Or wish that Barack Obama could be as outspoken and uncompromising as Margaret Thatcher. Aside from subliminal messages to Americans, the Political Film Society has nominated The Iron Lady as best film exposé of 2011. MH