Review of The Iron Lady (2011) by Egor A — 26 Jun 2012

The critics are utterly confused about the point of the movie. The critics' blatant disregard for the director's vision is reflected in reviews which describe this movie as insufficient in covering the greatness of her career.

This is what comes with stuffy expectations of a sommelier who cannot recognize a painted red wine as actually white. Well, surprise-surprise, this movie is NOT about her career. It is not to go through the historical points that made Iron Lady famous, but rather reflect on the life on someone as great, but subjected to the universal condition of old age and waning memory, and to the unfathomable and unbearable degree of loneliness coming from letting go: Letting go of her career, letting go of her husband, letting go of her life.

These are the choices that every human being faces in a position like hers, but her life and fame of an Iron Lady made her strong enough to make all of those tough choices, even now. This movie, and Meryl's performance, brought me to tears.

It is truly a shame that, against the director's vision, the Iron Lady is still perceived as a historical icon, and not as a living, suffering, and proud human being.