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Saturday, April 27, 2024
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HOLLYWOOD THE IRON LADY
EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: ****
The test of democracy is when a woman has as much right to a position of power
as any man. Yet, if you look into the history of the western world, you`ll
realise that most aren`t true `democracies`. For most of them, including the US,
has had no woman ruler. A notable exception, though controversial, is Britain`s
Margaret Thatcher.
Thus beyond the politics of that woman, lies the politics of gender against
which she rose and captured the world`s imagination. In the same vein, beyond
the politics of the film "The Iron Lady" lies a film about ambition,
of a woman in a man`s world. And in that respect, this is one tough nut of a
film, just like the lady it portrays.
Yet this biopic of Thatcher steers clear of any controversies and instead skims
the surface in an attempt to truly show her as the `Iron Lady`. It is this
attempt that works for the film, but distorts its politics and intention.
There is no denying that Thatcher was every bit of the lady of conviction the
film portrays. But conviction itself is not a guarantee of correctness. If it
were, we`d be worshipping Hitler, and Bollywood would be sweeping global film
awards. In hiding much of Thatcher`s bad politics, which is perhaps the reason
why Britain is in such a soup, that the film tries to ameliorate her past.
Yet beyond the film`s covert intentions lies a woman who dominated world
politics like few men have done, played by a woman who has dominated the space
inside the four walls of a picture frame like few ever have. And therein lies
the casting coup of the new millennium.
With 17 Academy Award nomination (three wins) and 26 Golden Globe nominations
(eight wins), both more than any man or woman, Meryl Streep is clearly the `Iron
Lady` of cinema.
And in portraying the Iron Lady of politics, she exactly shows why she is who
she is. The film is indeed a complete Streep show from the beginning to the end.
There are other very good actors, but all of them pale in front of her
domineering presence so much so that when you see her on screen, it is as if it
is not Thatcher that is on the prowl, but the unstoppable Terminator himself.
On another side, the film also shows the other side of a woman desperate to rise
and control everything around. You cannot seek to control so much and not break
up in the process. Thus her hallucinations, and moments of dementia are like the
price she has had to pay to be an woman with ambitions higher than a man`s in a
patriarchal world.
This battle of wits between this lone woman and men around is the high point of
the film. It is also captured evocatively in beautiful montages like the one of
being the only sandal in an ocean of shoes or being the only blue dress in a sea
of black men`s coat, or being seated in the furthest seat from the man in power,
et al.
These, and many other deft touches, force you to forget the politics of the
film, and focus on the politics that both made and broke the woman being
portrayed. And that in itself is a great triumph for any film anywhere.
