The Iron Lady (2011)

An elderly Margaret Thatcher talks to the imagined presence of her recently deceased husband as she struggles to come to terms with his death while scenes from her past life, from girlhood to British prime minister, intervene.

Director:

Phyllida Lloyd

Writer:

Abi Morgan (screenplay)

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant

Won 2 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 47 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meryl Streep	...	Margaret Thatcher
Jim Broadbent	...	Denis Thatcher
Susan Brown	...	June - Housekeeper
Alice da Cunha	...	Cleaner
Phoebe Waller-Bridge	...	Susie - Margaret's Secretary
Iain Glen	...	Alfred Roberts
Alexandra Roach	...	Young Margaret Thatcher
Victoria Bewick	...	Muriel Roberts
Emma Dewhurst	...	Beatrice Roberts
Olivia Colman	...	Carol Thatcher
Harry Lloyd	...	Young Denis Thatcher
Sylvestra Le Touzel	...	Hostess 1949
Michael Culkin	...	Host 1949
Stephanie Jacob	...	Female Guest 1949
Robert Portal	...	Grey Suited Guest - 1949

Storyline

Elderly and a virtual prisoner in her own home due to her concerned staff and daughter Carol, Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first woman prime minister, looks back on her life as she clears out her late husband Denis's clothes for the Oxfam shop. Denis is seen as being her rock as she first enters parliament and then runs for the leadership of the Conservative Party, culminating in her eventual premiership. Now his ghost joins her to comment on her successes and failures, sometimes to her annoyance, generally to her comfort until ultimately, as the clothes are sent to the charity shop, Denis departs from Margaret's life forever.

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Plot Keywords:

politics | 10 downing street london | conservative party | british prime minister | prime minister | 

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Taglines:

Never compromise

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violent images and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 January 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

La dame de fer

Filming Locations:

Wimbledon Film and Television Studios, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$220,409, 1 January 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$30,017,992

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$114,956,699

Company Credits

Production Co:

DJ Films, Pathé, Film4

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At The 84th Annual Academy Awards (2012) , this movie was nominated for two Oscars, Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Makeup, and won both, achieving a perfect score of two wins from two nominations. This feat was previously also achieved by Ed Wood (1994) which also won two Oscars from two nominations. Both films won in the Makeup category and one award for the acting.

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Goofs

In the Cabinet scene during the power cut, Thatcher says that the leader of the miners had called for the army to revolt. This had actually been said by Mick McGahey, vice-president of the National Union of Mineworkers. The leader, Joe Gormley, was a much more moderate figure.

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Quotes

Margaret Thatcher: Where did you go?
Denis Thatcher: South Africa.
Margaret Thatcher: Ah, yes.
Denis Thatcher: How many days passed before you realized I'd gone? Probably had to ask the cleaning woman where I was.

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Connections

Referenced in De slimste mens ter wereld: Episode #12.14 (2018)

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Soundtracks

Well Tempered Clavier: Prelude in C Major
(Johann Sebastian Bach (as JS Bach))
Performed by Daniel Barenboim
Licensed courtesy of Warner Music UK Limited

User Reviews

Towering Central Characterization of an Unsympathetic Figure

THE IRON LADY boasts a wonderful central performance by Meryl Streep as Baroness Thatcher; she is wholly convincing at capturing the politician's peculiar vocal inflections. The most interesting aspect of Phyllida Lloyd's film is the way it portrays Mrs. Thatcher as driven by hubris - despite her humble origins, she remained convinced of the rightness of her cause, even when she was manifestly wrong. This was especially the case in 1990, when she was forced to resign as leader of the Conservative Party over her support for the Poll Tax. The film shows how she rode roughshod over any objections raised by her Cabinet, even when they were probably right to object. With this knowledge in mind, we do not feel much sympathy for her when she is shown as a lonely elderly lady, without the support of her husband Denis (Jim Broadbent), and trying and failing to fend for herself. The supporting performances in this film are colorless, sometimes veering towards the grotesque (Richard E. Grant's Michael Heseltine is particularly guilty in this respect). But the film belongs to Streep and her towering central characterization.