I don’t take in that many movies. They’re an investment in logistics and money and often an exercise in audience roulette. And not enough are worth it. But I’ve seen three great ones in the last year: “The King’s Speech,” “Midnight In Paris” and “The Artist.” Thank you, Tampa Theatre and CineBistro, venues matter when you want the experience.
Now I’m a looking forward to seeing “The Iron Lady.” Actually, I’m looking forward to seeing Meryl Streep. She can absolutely channel a character, and given that this one is the remarkable Margaret Thatcher makes it irresistible.
But I’m also aware, of course, of the movie’s critical reviews. Great performance, decidedly less than great movie, seems the consensus. A descent into dementia is tough to pull off. Story line by flash back can be jolting; lives, including extraordinary ones, are lived linearly.
Well, I’ll be seeing for myself, but I’m always intrigued by the media endorsements that accompany newspaper movie ads, even those with less-than-sterling reviews. For “The Iron Lady” there is this laudatory shout out from Al Neuharth of USA Today: “A Movie You Really Need To See!” It’s right under where it says: “The Most Controversial Woman of Her Time. The Most Celebrated Actress of Our Time.”
But, of course, Neuharth said more than is shown. Is it dishonest or disingenuous or just movie PR 101 to self-servingly quote out of context for promotional purposes? Sort of like that super PAC ad quoting Mitt Romney saying “I love the opportunity to fire people.” Seems to go with the trickster territory.
But Neuharth said:
“I wouldn’t have believed it unless I had seen it for myself! Here’s 20th century giant Margaret Thatcher, the UK’s first–and only–female prime minister and the one who returned Britain to the realm of the great powers, depicted as addled. Conversing with her late husband. It borders on blasphemy! Thatcher deserves better, and so does the audience. Arguably, we don’t need to be dolefully reminded of what inevitably can become of greatness, but at least give greatness its due. That’s a reach too far when milestone moments are relegated to flash-back interludes, when biological demise trumps powerful, political precedent. What a missed opportunity to underscore greatness, not just reference it.
But don’t take my word for it. This is a movie you really need to see for yourself. Ponder what was left on the cutting room floor. Consider what a better focused, chronological treatment would have yielded: a poignant but powerful rendering of an incredibly special person on an historic journey–not a plaintive shell. If you wanted to do justice to Ronald Reagan would you use his Alzheimer’s stage as the reference point?”
And speaking of fair, no, Neuharth didn’t say it quite this way. But he could have.
One other notable point on “The Iron Lady.” I caught an interview with Meryl Streep who was commenting on what she had learned from researching the life of Margaret Thatcher. She said she was surprised at how much England’s top Tory approved of national health care and that she was pro-choice.
Not unlike Reagan, Thatcher wasn’t the embodiment of all things contemporarily conservative.