Pathé today announced that principal photography had begun on Margaret Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady (2011), written by the award-winning writer Abi Morgan (Brick Lane [2007]) and directed by Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia [2008]). The Iron Lady tells the compelling story of the UK’s much maligned first female prime minister, a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world.
The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman.
The film stars Academy Award-winners Meryl Streep as Lady Thatcher (pictured) and Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher. Their young selves are played by Alexandra Roach and Harry Lloyd. The rest of the cast of family and friends, politicians and advisers, is made up of the very best of British acting talent, including: Olivia Colman, Nicholas Farrell, Susan Brown, Roger Allam, Anthony Head, Julian Wadham, Pip Torrens, Nick Dunning, Richard E Grant, David Westhead, Angus Wright and John Sessions.
Whether the film will provide a more sympathetic portrayal of Lady Thatcher than previous efforts (Spitting Image springs to mind) remains to be seen.
*Release courtesy of Freud
Daniel Green
