8. The Iron Lady
As a British citizen, I think I can tell you with some authority that Margaret Thatcher was a divisive figure. Though it had been over 20 years since she fell from power, her death polarised British society like few others before. There was a grand state funeral, but there were also street parties all over the country, from north to south, Scotland to Wales. Love her or loath her, anyone who can stir up this sort of reaction is clearly ripe for film portrayal. So understandably, there was a lot of buzz about The Iron Lady, especially when we learnt from set reports and advance screenings that Meryl Streep was absolutely killing it in the part. It seemed that at the first attempt, we might have had the definitive Margaret Thatcher film on our hands. Thats not bad going. Yet when it came out, the vast majority of people were disappointed. With the film centring on an elderly, dementia-addled Thatcher doddering round her house, her opponents felt uncomfortable directing their hate onto a vulnerable old woman and her supporters felt the film dropped the ball entirely by not focusing on her achievements. Effectively, director Phyllida Lloyd fell between two stools. The film didnt function as a soaring critique of Thatcherism, or as a praise of her life and accomplishments. Trying to please everyone, it fell into a middle ground and pleased no-one. And if theres one thing were certain of, theres no middle ground when we consider Britains first female Prime Minister.