The Iron Lady

[superhero]

They really shouldn't have so overfocused on the medical condition.

[tilly]

Are you a big Margaret thatcher fan?

[superhero]

I am neutral. I think the film is weak hence Meryl Streep isn't a dead cert for the Best Actress Oscar, but she was clearly the best thing in the film.

[tilly]

She was a dead ringer for Margaret thatcher. I think it may win best film at the oscars!

[Beate]

I hope not. There are plenty better films out there.

[superhero]

Best Pic definitely not, Best Actress possibly....

[dfletch08]

Great work from the make-up department!

[prettyxcool]

Just seen this at a packed Wimbledon cinema.

I had high hopes for this after reading people's positive reviews but I was slightly disappointed.

Meryl streep is a fantastic actress and portrayed Margaret thatcher beautifully. I kept thinking it was Margaret thatcher. I will also say that the supporting cast were also fantastic too.

However, I felt it was a tad too long and you knew every aspect so there were no drama. It was almost an obituary.

6/10

I was there too tilly, with MariaLionza and at the end also saw kaybeelon, and we chatted outside. Shame to have missed you. There seems to be a better class of audience at packed Wimbledon Odeon tonight. You can hear a pin drop as opposed to the noisy Holloway Odeon last week!

I really enjoyed this. Meryl Streep is mesmerising as usual and all the supporting cast was good too. Felt it was very sad, quite objective, but it did show Thatcher to be very ruthless, as she was. Loved the relationship she had with her husband, and a side we never saw, how much she relied on him, and also the one who provided the humour in her life. It was not all about politics, but about a frail old lady, reminiscing of her past life. A good film to start the New Year. 9/10

[tilly]

Shame I missed you all ! Wimbledon is great as you don't get noisy eaters though we do get latecomers

[kevinknapman]

Trust me to forget how early old people are at Telegraph screenings. My dad who met me there told me they were let in at Odeon Kingston about 10 minutes before 6 and the cinema got packed very quickly. Still managed to get a decent seat though.

Sadly I didn't think much of the film itself. It took a very long time to get going, spending a little too much time on the modern day scenes with Thatcher seeing her dead husband. As a result the first half was incredibly inert and slightly dull. By the time it got around to exploring her political career, it didn't have enough time to do it justice. As a result the 2nd half felt like a rush through Thatcher's greatest hits. As a biopic it felt weak with a messy narrative structure that never quite worked. The script felt unfinished, as if it was an earlier draft rather than a finished one.
I also felt it let Thatcher off too lightly, not exploring the legacy of the decisions she made whilst Prime Minister. Sure it wasn't a rose-tinted view of her, but it could have been a bit more critical.

It's saving grace and something that just about made it worth seeing was Streep's performance, which as many have pointed out is fantastic. It's just a shame that it's in a film that doesn't deserve it. The supporting cast were strong, though I quickly grew tired of Jim Broadbent popping up constantly. I found it particularly odd that he had more screen time as a figment of her imagination than he did as a living person, which just seems wrong for a real-life biopic.

Personally after about an hour I couldn't wait for it too end. I'm glad I saw it, mainly for Streep's performance but I have no desire to ever see it again.