The Iron Lady

Like many Britons, I have a huge amount of respect for Margaret Thatcher. She was certainly one of the most influential women of the 20th century. Not only was she the first female leader of a western country, but she served as Prime Minister for over 10 years. She didn’t always do what was popular, and wasn’t afraid of doing what she thought was best for Britain, regardless of whether other political leaders disagreed.

I saw this film recently. While it had its good bits, and Meryl Streep did a very good job, its focus was completely incorrect.

[spoiler]

Why on earth, with a total runtime of 105 mins, would you spend an hour dealing with an elderly Thatcher suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Her suffering as an elderly woman has absolutely nothing to do with what made her influential, famous, and the first female Prime Minister.

So – while Meryl Streep did a great job – how the script writers decided that it was more important to focus on Thatcher’s Alzheimer’s than on her 10 years in office was very disappointing.