Not a member? Sign up now
Watch: Meryl Streep's first clip as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady"
By James Brady RyanJuly 7th, 2011, 10:54 amComments (4)When the first image of Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher hit the internet, people seemed generally impressed with how well America's Greatest Living Actress — which is not a description, FYI; we're legally required to refer to her by that title — embodied the look of the former Prime Minister. And now we can finally see her in action, as the first (quite short) trailer for The Iron Lady has been released:
Having watched some interviews with Thatcher, I think Streep certainly gets a few things down: the voice is pretty solid, Thatcher certainly does that "tilt head, slight smile" move, and Street really nails that odd flaring of the eyes when she punctuates the word "strike." On the other hand... there's a lot of teeth going on in this clip, which might be somewhat accurate, but could push the whole thing too far into camp territory to be taken seriously.
But I am no Thatcher expert. Readers who are more familiar with Thatcher and her mannerisms — do you think Streep is getting the part right? Or is this going to be less Helen Mirren in The Queen and more Fred Armisen as Obama on SNL?







Commentarium (4 Comments)
Streep has Thatcher nailed. Not perfect but pretty good. Too bad she probably couldn't get elected in the show biz dominated theater that passes for politics these days.
Which one couldn't get elected nowadays, Streep or Thatcher? If you mean the latter, dont you effing believe it. Rupert Murdoch and his papers* helped get her in first time around, and he was only getting warmed up then.
*Yes I know he has one less after this Sunday
Meryl's problem is, no matter how much make-up they cake onto her, her inner warmth still comes through in her facial features. That kills her impersonation stone cold dead in its tracks.
Looks like a great movie. Can't wait to see it. @Suck My Poll Tax- I kind of see your point. Thatcher gave off that Medusa vibe. Love how the trailer gets right to that.