Before getting into the "Gerontological" aspects of the movie, let me begin by saying that if one wants to learn how an Oscar winning performance looks like - one only needs to see how Meryl Streep performs. Only for watching the outstanding acting of Streep, (who won the best actress award for her performance in this film), as both the young and the old Margaret Thatcher - is a reason for watching this movie.
So, now that I've set a side this issue - let's go back to the movie itself. The film is a 2011 drama based on the life story of the most well known British politician after WWII - Margaret Thatcher. Basically, the film follows her life story, from being the daughter of an owner of a grocery shop, to graduating from Oxford, and then moving up the ladder of the Conservative Party, in an era that women were ignored or looked down at. Leaving politics aside - as Thatcher is still one of the most controversial prime ministers of Britain - the movie as a whole is a fascinating historical overview of the life-time, failures and achievements of Thatcher (and basically, Streep carries the whole movie on her shoulders).
The question now turn naturally to the "gerontological" nature of the movie. The film's plot is built from the perspective of Thatcher as an old woman, widowed, suffering from cognitive decline, who is basically closed-in in her apartment . One of the strongest opening scenes of the movie, is when Thatcher basically "escapes" her guarded apartment, and walks to her local convenience store. She looks, talks and behaves like an ordinary old woman, nobody realizes who she is, and most of the other shoppers are clearly young immigrants who ignore her and provide no respect for who became know as "the iron lady".
The "life-long" perspective which the film adopts, the notion of personal-history reflections of an aging woman, looking back on her life, and her relationships with her husband and children - are all key elements to various gerontological issues. The inter-play between the "young" and "old" Thatcher, provides a fascinating starting point for various gerontological discussions, with specific elements to gender, ageism and sexism.
Overall, this is in my view an excellent movie. While its gerontological aspect is not in its core, nevertheless, Streep's performance, and her ability to dance between "old" and "young" age in the context of an impressive political leader, makes this film a good gerontological film.
Year: 2011
UK
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
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