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The Iron Lady

Play trailer Poster for The Iron Lady PG-13 2011 1h 45m Biography History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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51% Tomatometer 231 Reviews 51% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
In her twilight years, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep) reflects on her life and career as she finally prepares to dispose of the belongings of her late husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent). Daughter of a Grantham grocer, she successfully broke through a double-paned glass ceiling of gender and class. Thatcher became the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom and remained as such for 11 consecutive years, until declining popularity forced her to resign.
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The Iron Lady

The Iron Lady

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Critics Consensus

Meryl Streep's performance as The Iron Lady is reliably perfect, but it's mired in bland, self-important storytelling.

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Critics Reviews

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Deborah Ross The Spectator 08/31/2018
The Iron Lady is a better performance than it is film, although I suspect the performance will carry the day. Go to Full Review
Candice Frederick Reel Talk Online 09/08/2017
C+
While the movie tries to cultivate Thatcher's life, it's not perfect. But the chemistry between Broadbent and Streep to elevate an untold romance beautifully elevates the flawed movie. Go to Full Review
Graham Fuller Film Comment Magazine 11/05/2013
So, as thrilling as it is to watch Streep imitate Thatcher, The Iron Lady feels like a missed opportunity, not to blame and cast aspersions, but to weigh and assess. Go to Full Review
Juan Pablo Russo EscribiendoCine Dec 1
4/10
It doesn't even follow a coherent ideological line, and everything feels more like a pastiche or a hodgepodge of leftovers than a dish of haute cuisine. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson 09/04/2023
2/5
While the film is respectful of her past achievements, we can't help but want more of the "Iron Lady" of the past, not the Rusty Woman in the present. Go to Full Review
Amy Smith Next Best Picture 04/27/2023
4/10
With a short runtime of under two hours, it takes too long for the screenplay to get to the meat of the political situation as the story instead favors an almost sympathetic set-up for a character that many find hard to love. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Fred D @Freddrendall 14h A rather depressing take on one of the most fascinating individuals of the late 20th century. The movie is horribly fixated on Thatchers dementia of the last few years of her life after the passing of her dear husband Dennis. It glosses over all her accomplishments and controversies as the female prime minister of Britain. It barely mentions anything about her relationship with President Reagan or the fall of communism in the former Soviet Union-East Germany and Gorbachev. The movie does a horrible job talking about her background as a daughter of a shopkeeper and what it took to make her so strong as a leader aka the Iron Lady. Meryl Streep does a good job as a portal in a rather bad film about someone that is incredibly fascinating in history. Highly disappointed. How this film won academy awards is beyond me. Guess the judges are idiots. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Mar 1 Academy Award winner in 2012 for Best Actress (Meryl Streep). 84th Annual Academy Awards ceremony. See more J B @Hooly Jan 24 More american BS. In the UK, we had this Nazi priminister, back in the 80's. We know what it's like. She sold all the nations wealth, including it's social housing stock, thus lining hers & her cronies pockets. She had her little war to get reelected on a jingo ticket. She crushed organised workforces & elements of society with a police army. Dissenting voices were silenced or marginalised or worse, monetised into toothless lap dogs. We couldn't get her out until her mental health, or lack of it, took over from her greed. Then, you dumbass americans make a fu**ing movie about the b*tch. Iron fu**ing lady? So, Hitler was an Ironman? You rehabilitate a nazi as some forceful spirit of free enterprise - I'm surprised you haven't made a favourable Hitler movie yet. "He was misunderstood" - take your supersized bollcks, put your trousers back on & f*ck off. Recognise any of the above behaviour in america 2026? See more Damien S @RT47420453 Nov 27 Outstanding performance from Streep. Watched it multiple times. See more dana c @RT83534701 May 21 As usual, Meryl does a meticulous job of reflecting the perspective of her character. The root of MT's personality was exposed. The relentlessness was represented fairly by showing from whence her nature is cultivated and how in some instances it can be an asset. Conversely , the movie honestly examines the cold, shallow thoughts that support such a stern perspective. See more Ricardo B @RT39916423 03/07/2025 Graças à espetacular atuação de Meryl Streep e um glorioso trabalho de maquiagem, "A Dama de Ferro" entrega uma das mais impressionantes interpretações de uma figura histórica já feitas para o cinema. Infelizmente, esse potencial é desperdiçado em um drama biográfico raso, que nunca ousa em explorar e se aprofundar nas questões políticas que uma personalidade tão controversa quanto Margaret Thatcher poderia proporcionar. See more Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis In her twilight years, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep) reflects on her life and career as she finally prepares to dispose of the belongings of her late husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent). Daughter of a Grantham grocer, she successfully broke through a double-paned glass ceiling of gender and class. Thatcher became the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom and remained as such for 11 consecutive years, until declining popularity forced her to resign.
Director
Phyllida Lloyd
Producer
Damian Jones
Screenwriter
Abi Morgan
Distributor
Weinstein Co.
Production Co
Pathé
Rating
PG-13 (Some Violent Images|Brief Nudity)
Genre
Biography, History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 30, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 30, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$30.0M
Runtime
1h 45m
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