Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2012

An Oscar-winning Meryl Streep performance surrounded by movie-like substances. Margaret Thatcher busted Britain’s unions, divided the nation, stayed in office for 13 years, and fought a needless war. Not many people are without strong opinions on the woman. Yet I left this maddeningly conventional, rise-to-power biopic feeling disappointed, knowing nothing about her I didn’t already know. The most effective (and affecting) parts are the present-day sequences showing Lady T mildly delusional, talking to her deceased husband Denis about her career. Focusing on that might have made a better movie.