I wasn’t really feeling the teaser trailer that was released in July. As I noted at the time, the performance, at least the glimpse we had of it initially, seemed more caricature than true embodiment of a character. Baz Bamigboye at The Daily Mail was recently granted an exclusive interview with Ms Streep and access to an exclusive full length trailer - embedded below. It’s certainly more than before but still... I keep thinking it’s Meryl Streep playing Margaret Thatcher and not just ... Margaret Thatcher.
Maybe it’s the way they cut the clip and chose the soundbites, all of them designed to be declarations and statements of authority rather than the regular speech patterns of an ordinary woman who accomplished extraordinary things. It’s hard to get the essence of a personality when she’s delivering a speech all the time, you know? I hope the entire movie isn’t about her giving speeches.
Baz, who is always complimentary of his subjects, gives Meryl a glowing review. He calls her “magnificent”, says the film is “powerful” and “affectionately done”, particularly as it relates to Thatcher’s relationship with her late husband Denis played by Jim Broadbent who, I know already, will make me cry very, very, very hard. Mrs Thatcher now apparently suffers from dementia so severe she still believes her husband is with her. This is addressed in the film as she looks back on the major events of her life which has already resulted in some criticism and worry that the movie will present her in unfavourable light. Click here to read Baz’s response to this at The Daily Mail.
