The Iron Lady is a very intimate, up close portrait of Margaret Thatcher, the first (and only) female Prime Minister of The United Kingdom. It tells of her rise to power, gives insight into her passion and drive, and leads to an ultimate sadness.
Meryl Streep is like a fine wine. She just gets better with age. Her portrayal of The Iron Lady (a reference to her unwillingness to compromise) Margaret Thatcher both young and old is remarkable. She plays both as tough and uncompromising, with authority and belief.
The interesting thing about the "biopic" is how the subject is portrayed. Often it starts at birth and follows them to death but in recent years the trend has been to focus on one event or one period if life. Take last years' Best Picture winner The King's Speech; it wasn't called a "biopic" but it was in its' simplest form as the story of a real person and a real event in their life. It didn't focus on King George VI's rule as king but it focused on his speech impediment. 2005's Walk the Line wasn't about Johnny Cash's life or his music; it was about his romantic relationship with June Carter. The Iron Lady isn't about Margaret Thatcher's policies or her rise to power. It's about her ascent from the grief over the passing of her husband and coming to terms with life in old age after leaving office. At times it's an ascent into madness but it's her iron will and resolve that keeps her from falling into it full force.
So, would I recommend it? I'm not sure. It's always a treat to see what Meryl Streep will do with a character but beyond her work, there's not much else to it. I give it seven stars out of eleven.
Also this week, Mark Wahlberg stars in Contraband as a man who has abandoned a life of crime, but is drug back into it when his brother-in-law botches a drug deal. Wahlberg is a legendary smuggler who assembles a crew for one final run.
Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton face off as members of the Divinity Church Choir in Joyful Noise. Dolly wants to be the choir director but Queen is chosen by the church board and wants to stick with their tried-and-true traditional style, while Parton think thinks they need to spic things up if they going to win the National Joyful Noise Competition.
Walt Disney releases another classic in 3D with Beauty and the Beast. The story of a young woman taken prisoner by a hideous beast who has an enchanted secret.
Next week, the Underworld franchise continues with Underworld: Awakening with Kate Beckinsale reprising her role as vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting experiments and an all out war to exterminate both of the immortal species.
Haywire is a Stephen Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven) directed action-thriller that introduces MMA superstar Gina Carano as a highly-trained operative who is double crossed and left for dead by someone in her won agency. She becomes the target of skilled assassins who know her every move and must find the truth in order to stay alive.
Red Tails is an exciting story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of untested African American Pilots who are finally given the chance to show their courage. It stars Terrance Howard, Cuba Gooding, Jr, Method Man, and Ne-Yo.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is about Oskar who is convinced that his father (Tom Hanks), who died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, left a final message for him hidden somewhere in New York City. He begins searching the city for the lock that fits a mysterious key he found in his father's closet. His journey takes him beyond his loss to a greater understanding of the world.