Paul Yim: (paulyim-deleteme[at]-deleteme-direman [dot] com) 2012-01-19 23:11:14

Speaking of Which...

Iron Lady stars Meryl Streep as the indomitable Margaret Thatcher during her often-times tumultuous and sometimes divisive term as Britain's Prime Minister.

The movie is a portrayal of an unconventional woman's personal journey, from shopkeeper's daughter to Oxford coed to Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It delves into the psyche of a person perpetually on the outside looking in - sometimes because of her low upbringing and always because she's a woman in one of the world's oldest Gentlemen's Clubs: British politics.

Meryl Streep is remarkable in a movie that is ultimately unbalanced in its approach to the subject. Yes, it's important to see a young and idealistic Margaret who falls in love and starts a family; yes, it's heartbreaking to see her ambitions steamroll her family; and yes it's interesting to see, through her mind's eye, her dealing with a tragic loss, but the filmmakers really skimped on the weighty political tension. Because of the overabundance of sentimentality much of what made Margaret Thatcher such an important figure in history is lost. Bottom line: watch it on Netflix.