North London Reading Group

With many reviews panning the film for its lack of politics, I didn’t expect a perfect history of the Thatcher years but I was unprepared for a poignant film about an elderly woman and her family coming to terms with a form of dementia.

Starting with a trip to the local shop for a paper and a pint of milk we quickly find that ‘the lady’ is not supposed to be out alone and that she still believes her husband to be with her, despite his having been dead for some years.

Mother, daughter and acquaintances are making hard adjustments as they cope with the altered personality of a woman who certainly proved herself determined, intelligent and strong – whatever you think of her politics.

Confusion and frustration

When signing a pile of books, Thatcher signs herself Roberts and the film touchingly depicts the loss of the shorter term memory as Margaret can’t even remember who she is. And so it continues; the confusion and frustration of a once powerful woman. We watch as she forgets that her son is in South Africa; she talks to an imaginary husband – seen through rose-tinted glasses for those who have heard about their relationship; and as a series of flashbacks show Thatcher’s recollections, there are tinges of regret too.

This isn’t a film about the politician, it is about the person. There is, of course, something of the politician, but her personal experience and career path are the greater part of this story. A woman in her twilight years looks back via a variety of devices: film of her children and husband holidaying in Cornwall; a headline about a hotel explosion; a dinner at a large table – these trigger memories that take us to different parts of Thatcher’s conscience.

Moving, whatever your views

For me, an aspiring politician, there were the beginnings of shared experience as Thatcher struggled to juggle the demands of family and politics and her comment (no idea if she ever said it) about ‘doing something, not being someone’.

No matter your views on politics or Thatcher, the film shows the loneliness, frustration and sadness that come with dementia – for the individual, family and friends. Whether it should have been made with Thatcher still alive is another discussion, though if it were a member of my family I’d be devastated.

The Iron Lady does make Thatcher somewhat vulnerable and highlights that old age happens to us all. As a fellow watcher commented: “it makes her human”. It certainly makes her a lot softer than the iron with which she has become synonymous.

Interested in politics, polemics and pints? See our reading  list or  contact us to join our next book discussion or cinema outing