The Iron Lady (**)

For me, no movie was anticipated this year as The Iron Lady, Meryl Streep's glorious return to the screen and what would be perhaps one of the most acclaimed performances of her illustrious career. The teaser and theatrical trailers promised Streep's ever-present wit, attention to detail, and perfect ear for dialects and accents. Margaret Thatcher, as it were, was perhaps the role she was born to play. How disappointed I was to find The Iron Lady not only an imbalanced mess, but one that was so poorly conceived of that it threatened to dampen what was perhaps the best performance given by an actor in the past 3 years. Yes, I believe Streep has outdone even herself, but the film she finds herself in is perhaps one of the worst of the year.

Told through flashbacks (as all Oscar wannabe's seem to be), we see glimpses of Margaret Thatcher's reign as Britain's first woman and longest-running 20th Century Prime Minister. And do I mean glimpses. The film, set in what is presumably modern times, shows Thatcher as delusional, slow, and ever-losing her grip on reality. These flashbacks to her political days are so brief that they account for what feels like no more than 30 minutes of the entire film. What we are left with is Thatcher, old, decrepit, and constantly at the sympathy of her staff and daughter. Is this movie called The Iron Lady or The Crazy and Slightly Soft Lady? Where is the powerful Thatcher who stood her ground amidst trials and war? Yes, we see instances of her leadership as Prime Minister, but they are all out of context and not presented in a clear cohesive manner. Not to mention that Thatcher is still alive to this day. What would you think if you went to see a biopic made about yourself and your life's work only to see it focused on your medical problems today, after you're out of the public spotlight?

And here is the dilemma with the film. Yes, the movie was fatally flawed from the screenplay stage, but Meryl Streep has truly never given a better performance since perhaps Sophie's Choice. Here she is completely immersed in her character, disappearing entirely behind Oscar-worthy makeup and costumes. There is no more complete performance from this year, male or female, and the Oscars would be justified in giving Streep her LONG overdue 3rd Oscar. But will they reward such an historic performance hidden inside a mediocre film? I hate to say that it seems doubtful. The film is technically well made and the only flaw is truly with the script, but it is such a gaping error on the filmmakers' part that it is a wonder how so many people agreed to make the film in the first place.

Don't get me wrong, The Iron Lady is not a bad film along the lines of Gigli or Plan 9 From Outer Space. It is a film that could have been (dare I say) great were it under the helm of a different director, editor, or screenwriter. The focal point of the film is marvelous Meryl Streep, who is the sole redeeming feature to this movie. Will Oscar give credit where it is due and look past the film? Hard to say. If nothing else, we have yet another film that solidifies today's greatest actor as perhaps history's greatest actor of all time.

(Awards potential: Best Actress (Streep), Best Makeup, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score)