Margaret (2009 film)

Last updated

Margaret
Written byRichard Cottan
Directed byJames Kent
Starring Lindsay Duncan
James Fox
Robert Hardy
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerSanne Wohlenberg
Running time113 minutes
Original release
Network BBC Two
Release26 February 2009 (2009-02-26)
Related
The Long Walk to Finchley

Margaret is a 2009 television film produced by Great Meadow Productions for the BBC. It was first broadcast on 26 February 2009 on BBC Two. It was made by the same production company as the 2008 television film The Long Walk to Finchley , which fictionalised the start of Thatcher's political career.

Contents

Plot

Margaret is a fictionalisation of the life of Margaret Thatcher (played by Lindsay Duncan) and her fall from the premiership in the 1990 leadership election, with flashbacks telling the story of Thatcher's defeat of Edward Heath in the 1975 leadership election. [1]

Production

On 9 April 2008, it was announced that Duncan was to play Thatcher, and filming commenced in summer 2008.

Cast

Hardy, Fox, Vansittart and Cochrane had all appeared in the 2002 TV production of The Falklands Play , by Ian Curteis, about an earlier period in Thatcher's premiership; although many political figures were featured in both films, none of the four actors played the same roles in both.

Allam, Cochrane, Jones and Sessions would go on to appear in the 2011 film The Iron Lady about Thatcher's rise to power, relationship with her husband, and life after politics.

Reception

The Guardian critic praised the "deft casting" and stated that the flashbacks were "illuminating and sometimes entertaining" and that some episodes in the drama were "wholly imaginary and thoroughly un-Thatcherite, but ... [hang] around the mind like cigar smoke". [2]

Media releases

It is currently available for purchase in the UK.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Thatcher</span> Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was a British stateswoman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the position. As prime minister, she implemented economic policies that became known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol Thatcher</span> English journalist (born 1953)

Carol Jane Thatcher is an English journalist, author and media personality. She is the daughter of Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister from 1979 to 1990, and Denis Thatcher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Pym</span> British politician (1922–2008)

Francis Leslie Pym, Baron Pym, was a British Conservative Party politician who served in various Cabinet positions in the 1970s and 1980s, including Foreign, Defence and Northern Ireland Secretary, and Leader of the House of Commons. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Cambridgeshire from 1961 to 1987. Pym was made a life peer in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvia Syms</span> English actress (1934–2023)

Sylvia May Laura Syms was an English stage and screen actress. Her best-known film roles include My Teenage Daughter (1956), Woman in a Dressing Gown (1957), for which she was nominated for a BAFTA Award, Ice Cold in Alex (1958), No Trees in the Street (1959), Victim (1961), and The Tamarind Seed (1974).

Michael Dundonald Cochrane is an English actor. Cochrane has played Oliver Sterling in the Radio 4 soap opera The Archers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindsay Duncan</span> Scottish actress

Lindsay Vere Duncan is a Scottish actress. She is the recipient of three BAFTA nominations and one Scottish BAFTA nomination, as well as two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for her work on stage. She has starred in several plays by Harold Pinter. Duncan's film credits include Prick Up Your Ears (1987), The Reflecting Skin (1990), City Hall (1996), An Ideal Husband, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Mansfield Park, Under the Tuscan Sun, AfterLife, Starter for 10 (2006), Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010), About Time (2013), Birdman (2014), and Blackbird (2019).

<i>The Falklands Play</i> 2002 British television play

The Falklands Play is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of history. It was originally commissioned by the BBC in 1983, for production and broadcast in 1986, but was subsequently shelved by Controller of BBC One Michael Grade due to its pro-Margaret Thatcher stance and alleged jingoistic tone. This prompted a press furore over media bias and censorship. The play was not staged until 2002, when it was broadcast in separate adaptations on BBC Television and Radio. It was aired again on BBC4, 1 December 2020, over 18 years after it was last transmitted.

<i>The Deal</i> (2003 film) 2003 television film directed by Stephen Frears

The Deal is a 2003 British television film directed by Stephen Frears from a script by Peter Morgan, based in part upon The Rivals by James Naughtie. The film depicts the Blair–Brown deal, a well-documented pact that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown made, whereby Brown would not stand in the 1994 Labour leadership election so that Blair could have a clear run at becoming leader of the party and later Prime Minister. The film begins in 1983, as Blair and Brown are first elected to Parliament, and ends in 1994 at the Granita restaurant—the location of the supposed agreement—with a brief epilogue following the leadership contest.

Janet McLuckie Brown was a Scottish actress, comedian and impressionist who gained considerable fame in the 1970s and 1980s for her impersonations of Margaret Thatcher. Brown was the wife of Peter Butterworth, who was best known for his appearances in the Carry On films. Butterworth died in 1979 and Brown never remarried.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Reece</span> British businessman, journalist, political/public relations strategist

Sir James Gordon Reece was a British journalist and television producer who worked as a political strategist for Margaret Thatcher during the 1979 general election, which led to her victory over then prime minister James Callaghan. Reece was credited with softening the tone of Thatcher's voice and improving her stuffy dress sense, to broaden her public appeal, and he also encouraged her to adopt and embrace the title of "The Iron Lady" to convey the strength of her unwavering political resolve and unbending character. These were services for which Reece was subsequently knighted. He was to correctly predict that Thatcher would not stand in another General Election following her third (1987) landslide victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phyllida Lloyd</span> English film director and producer

Phyllida Christian Lloyd, is an English film and theatre director and producer.

<i>The Long Walk to Finchley</i> 2008 television film

Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley, subtitled in the initial credits How Maggie Might Have Done It, is a 2008 BBC Four television drama based on the early political career of the young Margaret Thatcher, from her attempts to gain a seat in Dartford in 1949 via invasion to her first successful campaign to win a parliamentary seat, Finchley, in 1959. It also portrays her early relationship and marriage with Denis Thatcher.

Antony David Saint is an English novelist, playwright and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural depictions of Margaret Thatcher</span>

Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. Her portrayal in the arts and popular culture has been mixed. In the words of one critic she attracted "musical opprobrium like no other British political leader". Such opinion is divergent from mainstream opinion polling which tends to place her as the most popular British prime minister since Winston Churchill.

<i>Thatcher: The Final Days</i> 1991 British TV film depicting PM Margaret Thatchers loss of power

Thatcher: The Final Days is a 1991 British television film about the events surrounding the final few days of Margaret Thatcher's time as Prime Minister. It was written by Richard Maher, directed by Tim Sullivan and starred Sylvia Syms in the role of Thatcher. The film was produced for ITV by Granada Television and first shown on ITV on Wednesday 11 September 1991 at 9:00pm.

Abigail Louise Morgan is a Welsh playwright and screenwriter known for her works for television, such as Sex Traffic and The Hour, and the films Brick Lane, The Iron Lady, Shame and Suffragette.

<i>The Iron Lady</i> (film) 2011 British biographical drama film

The Iron Lady is a 2011 biographical drama film based on the life and career of Margaret Thatcher, a British politician who was the longest-serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the office. The film was directed by Phyllida Lloyd and written by Abi Morgan. Thatcher is portrayed primarily by Meryl Streep, and, in her formative and early political years, by Alexandra Roach. Thatcher's husband, Denis Thatcher, is portrayed by Jim Broadbent, and by Harry Lloyd as the younger Denis. Thatcher's longest-serving cabinet member and eventual deputy, Geoffrey Howe, is portrayed by Anthony Head.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher</span> 2013 ceremonial funeral in London

On 8 April 2013, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, died of a stroke at the Ritz Hotel, London, at the age of 87. On 17 April, she was honoured with a ceremonial funeral. Due to polarised opinions about her achievements and legacy, the reaction to her death was mixed across the UK, including contrasting praise, criticism, and celebration of her life and death.

Cultural depictions of prime ministers of the United Kingdom have become commonplace since the term's first use in 1905. However, they have been applied to prime ministers who were in office before the first use of the term. They are listed here chronologically from the date of first appointment as prime minister.

<i>The Crown</i> (season 4) Season of television series

The fourth season of The Crown, which follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, was released by Netflix on 15 November 2020.

References

  1. "Margaret – introduction". BBC Press Office. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  2. Banks-Smith, Nancy (27 February 2009). "TV review". The Guardian .