When British Prime Minister David Cameron said he wished filmmakers had released The Iron Lady after Margaret Thatcher’s death, he wasn’t kidding. The Iron Lady offers a glimpse into the life of Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s highly controversial first female Prime Minister, who served from 1979 to 1990. While the film zealously documents Thatcher’s rise to stardom, it also dwells upon her struggle with aging and dementia — and it’s not a pretty sight.

Screenwriter Abi Morgan opens the film with an elderly Thatcher (played by another titan, 16 time Academy Award nominee Meryl Streep). As she grows older and slips into dementia, she struggles to maintain touch with reality. She drifts through each day, haunted by images of her late husband, the dedicated Sir Dennis Thatcher (Jim Broadbent). She often seems unaware that Sir Dennis is dead; she talks to him as if he’s in the room with her.  In short, Thatcher is frail, lonely and lost.

Thatcher then relives her rise to power in a series of stunning flashbacks. These flashbacks begin with her memories of helping out at her father’s grocery shop as a young woman (Alexander Roach portrays the young Thatcher), listening to his political speeches. These early influences drive her struggle to become part of the male-dominated Tory party and secure a seat in the House of Commons. She struggles to fit in as the only female member of the House and as the only female member of Prime Minister Edward Heath’s cabinet. When she perceives that the Conservative Party has gone soft, she decides to take things into her own hands. She runs for, and eventually wins, the roles of the Leader of the Conservative party and Prime Minister.

Director Phyllida Lloyd, who helmed the box office-smashing musical Mamma Mia! (which also stars the irrepressible Streep), tells the story of Thatcher’s elaborate makeover. Image was nearly everything for Thatcher. Everything about Thatcher the politician, from her sharp power suits to low, husky timbre was engineered by an army of professionals (the legendary British theater icon Lawrence Olivier served as her voice coach). Thatcher’s political prowess aside, her ability to not only endure but also to retain her grip on her physical transformation makes her more than deserving of her illustrious nickname.

The next set of memories is brief, but focuses on her time as Prime Minister and many of the controversial decisions she made. These include her decision to retake the Falkland Islands in the Falkland War of 1982 and sink the ARA General, an Argentinian war ship. Consequences of her conservative economic policies eventually led to the Brixton Riots and mining strikes triggered by high levels of unemployment and rising crime rates throughout the country. Thatcher’s victory in the mining strikes led to a major turning point in  British industrial relations, and Streep’s performance unwavers with an ironclad fist.

Lloyd and screenwriter Abi Morgan cover much of Thatcher’s story we know, from her famous kinship with Ronald Reagan to her infamous struggles with tax reform. As per the Prime Minister tradition, her people and fellow politicians offered her no excuses, throwing her to the dogs. Her fall from grace and haunted later years are depicted here with similar explicit treatment. 

Many prominent film critics have criticized The Iron Lady for its plot, pacing or message, but there are no harsh words for Mrs. Streep. There are many pitfalls, such as brushing off Thatcher’s damaging economic and foreign policy and instead focusing on her icon status as the modern world’s first leading lady. Thatcher is a deeply polarizing figure and the film could have studied her divisive decisions even more. Still, Meryl Streep delivers a stunning portrayal of a woman that had to sacrifice her family and relationships to help meet her political aspirations and then face the regret and isolation later in life because of it.