Academy Award winning actress Meryl Streep is due to take a turn portraying Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, in the movie Iron Lady, due out December 16. The trailer alone, released today, has many in the media predicting another Academy Award nomination for Streep, already nominated 16 times in her career.
The trailer spends its first half focused on Thatcher's advisors who say she's perfect for politics, other than her hat, her pearls, and--oh yes--her voice. Streep then appears on-screen to express her own opinion.
Streep, last nominated for her role as Julia Child in Julie & Julia, is well-known for her meticulous attention to accents and capturing the essence of a character. She was first nominated for a supporting actress Academy Award for her second film role in the Deer Hunter (she lost to Maggie Smith in Neil Simon's California Suite).
Margaret Thatcher was the conservative prime minister of the United Kingdom throughout the 1980's. She was a champion of deregulation and against subsidies. Her conduct of the Falklands War in 1982 brought her popular support. She earned the nickname "Iron Lady" for her hard line against both the Soviet Union and trade unions.
The film follows Thatcher's rise as a member of Parliament to her position as Prime Minister and includes the 17 days leading up to the Falklands War.
