Friday 13th January 2012 | 07:00

John Whittingdale reviews the Iron Lady

Writing in a House Magazine, the Conservative Chair of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee John Whittingdale reviews Margaret Thatcher’s biopic The Iron Lady.

 

I wanted to like The Iron Lady but I didn’t. One of my fears was that it might be a left-wing hatchet job on the record of the Thatcher government. It isn’t that, and for young people who don’t have a great deal of knowledge about that government, it gives quite a good insight. However, I would hate for people who didn’t know about her to have this film as their only source of what she was like and what she achieved. I suppose understandably the film concentrates on the more visual and dramatic events of her time as prime minister, such as the IRA bombing of the Grand Hotel, the miners’ strikes, the riots, and the Falklands War, but it completely fails to mention some of the more lasting and transformational achievements of her government such as the sale of council homes, privatisation of national industries, and reforms to the tax system.

However, my greatest disappointment is the obsessive focus on her mental state today. As a film about the frightening effects of dementia, it is very moving. However, while it is true that Lady Thatcher is now frail and has memory problems, I do not believe that it is an accurate portrayal. The idea that she lives in a fantasy world is simply untrue and to the extent that the film was correct, I felt that it was intrusive and unfair. I am sure that Lady Thatcher will not watch the film but I still find it objectionable that the film makers chose to devote so much time to highlighting her condition in a way which is bound to upset her family and those close to her.

Inevitably the film also focuses on a only a few individuals. Meryl Streep puts in an extraordinary performance and has captured Lady Thatcher’s voice and mannerisms superbly. It is uncanny how close she has got to appearing and sounding like her. But the portrayal is still two dimensional in concentrating on some characteristics and no others. It rightly conveys her strength of purpose and conviction, and her sometimes hectoring style, but it completely fails to capture her extraordinary personal kindness and compassion which inspired such tremendous loyalty among all those who worked for her. There are also a number of very good impersonations of key payers such as Geoffrey Howe, John Nott, Michael Heseltine and Michael Foot, but some of the most important figures are ignored such as Keith Joseph, Willie Whitelaw, Ian Gow, Charles Powell and Bernard Ingham. Of course, you can’t fit everyone in, but these are striking omissions. As for Dennis Thatcher, it is again a remarkable performance by Jim Broadbent but the impression given of a somewhat out of touch and buffoonish character owes more to Dear Bill than to the reality of DT.

In conclusion, it is quite a fair account of her government and also reflects well the extraordinary achievement of a woman at that time to become first Leader of the Conservative Party and then prime minister. It also brings back a lot of memories for anyone who was closely involved in the events shown. However, I am sorry that the film-makers spent so much of it on her present condition in a way that is bound to be painful for all who admire and respect her. It would also have been much better to have waited before doing so.