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| Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher |
Casting an American actress in the role of the former British Premier, Margaret Thatcher, was a controversial decision that perhaps set the tone and necessary tension for Meryl Streep’s delicate portrayal of Britain’s first woman premier. The Iron Lady was known as much for the contrast of her bright blue suits against the men's monotone suits as being a leader who made no apology for advocating and seeing through unpopular reforms.
I saw the portrayal of a woman often baffled by her male contemporaries’ head-nodding compliance to groupthink as compared to real thinking, and found her assertion on this matter [from another source] noteworthy: "To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects." (1)
"Being powerful is like being a lady.
If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t." (2)
As a woman, I applaud Margaret Thatcher for wearing her femininity without the condescending need to conform to majority rule or to compromise her beliefs to fit consensus. Personally, I have observed how traditional culture pervades the notion that a woman's capability is a threat to her spouse and to others, and she needs to subdue it. Often, such messages come from women themselves in the form of backhanded compliments, "You are so smart and capable, I feel so inadequate around you." Surely, for women and men, the meaning of our lives has to be found more in purpose and passion than in our gender and familial roles. Characteristically, the young Thatcher warned her beau when he popped the question, “One’s life must matter beyond being married, raising children... I don’t want to die washing cups!” Indeed, women can do all these and more.
Some other noteworthy quotes from the movie:
Alluding to re-runs of past events on the news, Denis Thatcher reminded his wife: “You can rewind it, but you can’t change it.”
The Iron Lady aggressed about her radical reforms: “What we need is MEDICINE and to take it... we are not managing decline but [in my own words] be healthy and prosperous.”
During an interview with BBC, 1973: ‘I don’t think there will be a woman Prime Minister in my lifetime.’ Understatement of the century.
‘People don’t care about thinking anymore but about what they are feeling... what are you feeling about this and that. What we think, we become. And I think I am fine,’ she told her doctor.
After the Iron Lady suffered dementia, her mental capacity deteriorated. If the hallucinations of Denise shown throughout the movie were true, they would only be to fill the void and loneliness typically experienced by a surviving or staying spouse. She sees him, hears his voice and engages in conversation with him as though he is still around. Indeed, fantasy has a way to help people cope with loneliness and alleviate the pain of emotional void.
Although I took my teenaged daughter to this deferential biopic so that she could learn something about an iconic figure, the movie does seem to draw a more mature and dignified audience, judging by the people streaming in after us. No clue why it was rated 'PG13 Brief Nudity' as there were no conspicuous nudity, sex or violent scenes.
1,2 Quotes from Margaret Thatcher extracted from http://www.listverse.com/