A trip to the cinema is not quite as good as the theatre. But it makes for an easy outing, and having seen advertisements for The Iron Lady on buses I decide to give her a go. The Odeon on Edgeware Rd is the closest, and I arrive at 7:30 for the 8pm session. Unlike Australia, you can choose between regular tickets, or if you pay an extra 2 pounds, upgrade to premium and get better seats. The cinema is expensive anyway, so what's an extra couple of quid for a better view?
Of course I take my seat at the allotted time, before anyone arrives, and suffer half an hour of ads. Worse, I appear to be the only one to have picked "Premium". All the seats in the middle of the cinema are marked in bold white letters, "Premium", clearly differentiating the upper classes from the tight arses. For awhile I think I'm the only one who's paid for a full frontal view of The Iron Lady. Thankfully a few late-middle aged to elderly couples soon join me in the patrician stalls.
The Iron Lady is well worth a look for anyone interested in politics behind the scenes, although director Phyllida Lloyd tends to eulogise - Thatcher is praised for her will and determination, succeeding in a male dominated arena and brushing aside, without feeling, any critique of her social policies.
Her increasing authoritarianism is questioned, as is the sinking of the Argentinian naval vessel Belgrano that put an end to negotiations and sparked all out conflict in the Falklands. 323 sailors drowned, and whether or not the torpedoing was a legitimate act of war because the ship was heading into the British exclusion zone, it was the first shot fired, signaling an end to the round of brinkmanship. I later asked an Englishman whether there was a word for this of action, suggesting "atrocity"; he suggested "murder". Nevertheless, victory in the Falklands turned around her electoral fortunes, playing no small part in helping her win another term.
Meryl Streep bears a striking resemblance to the real woman and all actors give strong performances, with some memorable scenes in the House of Commons. The film has been rightly criticised as overplaying her supposed latter day senility and romanticising her early years. Yes, Thatcher was the first female leader of a western democracy and we know she changed Great Britain, but a bit more on the how and the why would have elevated the movie from watchable to must-see.
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