The Iron Lady

The Iron Lady, nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Meryl Streep; Julie and Julia, Doubt) and Best Makeup.  The Iron Lady tells the story of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and how she broke through the barrier in a male-dominated world to become Britain's first female prime minister.  The movie starts out with a present day Thatcher, showing her struggle to get over her deceased husband.  The film uses flashbacks to tell the powerful story of Margaret Thatcher.

Streep has been nominated for 106 Oscars, but has only one two.  She won Best Actress for 82s Sophie's Choice and Best Supporting Actress in 79s Kramer vs. Kramer.  It's disappointing that Streep hasn't won an Oscar in about 30 decades even though she's been in some pretty good films.  She's an excellent actress which may be overlooked seeing as she is up against some other good actresses.  However, none of the other nominees have won an award, and they certainly haven't been nominated as many times.  Streep's portrayal of Margaret Thatcher was excellent.  It gave me a great insight in what she was and is like.  She's a powerful woman playing another powerful woman in a role that was fitting for her.

As for the Makeup, one of the first comments I made was how they did a great job making her look older.  I didn't even recognize her in the first scene.  I'm always fascinated with special effects makeup in movies, and even though this one was just a matter of making Meryl look like an 85 year old woman, I still think it was a great job done by the makeup artists.

This movie to me was sad because her holding on to her late husbands stuff reminds me of someone I know who has recently lost someone, so it really helped me feel bad for her and empathize with her.  Definitely a must see, especially if you're a history buff.