recess
January 19, 2012
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The Iron Lady THE WEINSTEIN CO. DIR. PHYLLIDA LLOYD
The Iron Lady has two monumental shining qualities: the director’s layout and Meryl Streep. Director Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!) essentially assigns Streep two roles: the strong-willed yet flawed leader Margaret Thatcher of the past, and the decrepit and seemingly feeble Margaret Thatcher of the present day. In doing so, he focuses on the isolating and emotionally destructive effects of leadership, and wonders whether damage can be reversed and guilt reconciled. Lloyd ingeniously parallels Thatcher’s past battles with gender roles, class stereotypes, political opposition, and betrayal with her present-day internal struggle with family guilt and dementia, artistically illustrated both by the amusing yet haunting hallucination of her late husband (Broadbent) and by the chronological yet fragmented flashbacks of Thatcher’s rise to and reign as Prime Minister. Streep is phenomenal in both of her roles, but the emotionally distraught 86-year-old ex-Prime Minister holds more weight. Streep depicts the young Thatcher as poised, intelligent, and ambitious while still underscoring her obstinacy, her brittleness, and her torment at the breaking of her family and the waning of her influence. As for the Thatcher of the present day, however, Streep flawlessly portrays the near-tragic old woman trapped in the past. The youthful and vibrant qualities that made Thatcher who she was conflict with the ailments of age
that make her who she’s become, and Streep’s performance of it is, frankly, Oscar-worthy. Despite these strengths, the film fails on one note: it frequently supposes that the audience is familiar with Thatcher’s political legacy and late 20th century British history, which can cause frequent disconnects and thus weaken the film’s efficacy. And, perhaps because Streep seems stronger when playing the older Thatcher, Lloyd throws off the pacing of the film by spending too much time in the present day. Furthermore, when the film does jump to the past, some of Thatcher’s memories appear as montages of news reports haphazardly placed in the movie; the lack of Streep in these sequences reduces them to little more than quick factual ways to move forward instead of effective emotive sequences. Additionally, large time differences between some of the memories cause an implicit dismissal of half of Thatcher’s rise to power and time as Prime Minister. Overall, Lloyd’s choice to juxtapose the present and past is a decent one, and this decision, coupled with Streep’s outstanding performance, admittedly adds strength to the film. But when the credits roll, Streep’s performance is ultimately more interesting than the story she’s supposed to be a part of, and as a whole it doesn’t seem as poignant as it should. —Duncan Dodson
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy FOCUS FEATURES DIR. TOMAS ALFREDSON
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, a film based off the John le Carré novel of the same title, takes its audience back to time and form of the classic spy tale. A Russian mole infiltrates the highest level of British Intelligence in the Cold War era, and Mr. Smiley (Gary Oldman) must uncover and remove the deeply entrenched agent from its ranks. It’s a well-done and welcome return to the classic espionage genre. The narrative is fresh despite the conventional genre tropes, and the screenplay is equally snappy throughout. Carré’s dark and subtle literary approach transfers well to the film, in a directorial tone that reflects a more calculated and cold atmosphere. Moreover, the program music is done wonderfully, complimenting the action perfectly. Special mention should be made of director Tomas Alfredson, who preserves a subtlety in Tinker Tailor without letting the film drift into incomprehensibility. The result is a work that’s accessible to most audiences, but especially rewarding to engaged moviegoers: the subtle hints and messages sprinkled throughout merge to thicken the excitement and anxiety. The greatest strength of Tinker Tailor, though, is Oldman’s career-defining performance as Smiley. In a year where so many actors—Ryan Gosling, Leonard DiCaprio, etc.—have flexed their thespian muscles, Oldman brings to bear an equally impressive execution. Smiley is not a simple character to play. He has dealt with spouse drama at home, while serving at the head of British Intelligence for years. This results in a character with emotional turbulence, yet years of training and experience that condition an inability to reveal his feelings to others. Personally, seeing Oldman without his trademark moustache is enough motivation for me to go see the film, but his understated, brilliant performance re-convinced me of his ability to swing with Hollywood’s big boys. Oldman’s challenge in Tinker Tailor is imbuing the role with a visceral sensibility while maintaining the restraint befitting a high officer in the British Intelligence. He succeeds on both counts, stealing every scene in which he appears, even among scenery-chewing performances by Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. The nuance and careful pacing of the film may wear on some attention spans, but for those looking to engage and interact with a classical espionage film, Tinker Tailor doesn’t disappoint. If the twists and turns of its screenplay aren’t enough to satisfy you, Oldman will. —Aymeric Vincenti
ALEX BAILEY/SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE