Margaret (DVD) – Maggie Thatcher, but not as you may know her

With new power, comes new responsibility…The canvassing is over, the campaign trail has finished, and we are now presented with our first coalition government since World War II. The timing of Margaret on DVD is therefore unexpectedly fortuitous, looking back on another political milestone, the career of the Iron Lady herself, Ms Thatcher, just as a new era begins.

The drama itself begins at the start of the 90s, with Lindsey Duncan’s Maggie under fire from dissenters in her own Conservative party. Desperate to hold onto the power she has gained by clawing her way up the ladder, the nail in the coffin would seem to be the resignation of Geoffrey Howe (John Sessions). A hilariously beetle-browed Michael Heseltine (Oliver Cotton), almost a stand-in for the traditional Hollywood villain, establishes himself as Margaret’s biggest threat, but can she even trust her closest advisers, namely foreign advisor Charles Powell (James Fox) and Philip Jackson’s press secretary, Bernard Ingham? Jumping neatly back and forth in time, we soon establish Thatcher’s drive as she worked her way to the top of a male dominated environment. The only constant is her loyal husband Denis (sensitively played by Star Wars’ Ian McDiarmid).

Rather than taking the dry, reverential route, scriber Richard Cottan (Wallander) and director James Kent paint instead in brooding, shadowy tones, full to the brim of (surely exaggerated) skulduggery; a caption at the outset advises that although the public events depicted are real, licence has been taken with the more intimate details. Yet this works to its favour, dramatically enhancing the power-play that went on behind the doors of Whitehall during an especially difficult time in British politics. It’s not so much history as historical impersonation, putting a cinematic face on real characters and situations, Dominic Muldowney’s agitated score driving it along at a fair old clip. Not all of it works: the decision to reduce John Major (Michael Maloney) to a whispering, Gollum-esque figure waiting in the wings is certainly an odd one.

Yet with those parameters in mind, it becomes much easier to enjoy the excellent performances from a jaw dropping ensemble cast, chief amongst which is, of course, Duncan’s commanding, ball-busting central performance, bringing to life the girl amongst the boys who (for better or worse) showed how women could grab the reigns of politics. Yet it’s the quieter moments that are more arresting: Thatcher’s neglect of daughter Carol (Olivia Poulet) or admitting that entering the testosterone-fuelled House of Commons ‘has always frightened her’.

Her increasing difficulty in hiding any display of weakness from McDiarmid’s devoted husband is ultimately extremely moving, reminding us ever so slightly that the Iron Lady was indeed a fallible beast herself. It’s something to be reminded of in our cynical modern climate of spin and media heckling.

Overall Verdict: With a great performance by Duncan, as a tone that’s more dramatic than reverential, this is a time reminder of the Iron Lady, as Britain enters a new political era.

Reviewer: Sean Wilson