Trailer Talk: Is 'Iron Lady' a Hit Job on Conservative Women?

Below is the recently released teaser-trailer for the Margaret Thatcher biopic, “The Iron Lady.” The Weinstein Co’s film comes out in January 2012 and has Oscar-bait written all over it.

We don’t see Meryl Streep (as Thatcher) for over half of this minute-long clip, but when we do, we learn that Streep’s Thatcher will be funny and good-natured but capable of having the upper hand in a confrontation with men who are trying to coach (manipulate?) her. Based on this teaser, we can assume Streep will be portraying the former U.K. Prime Minister as an amiable leader, but potentially an intellectual light-weight.

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Streep does a bit of her signature over-acting here, even employing the canine head tilt that reminds me of Michael Myers in “Halloween,” but she certainly looks the part.

Nonetheless, the trailer is intriguing. Now if only the fact that the script smells like a hit job didn’t ruin it.

The write-up from YouTube got me thinkin’…

The Iron Lady: Tells the story of a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and insightful portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman.

Can you think of an American politician who might one day fit this description...? Can you…?

Hollywood hates right-wing women and this film will be in theaters during some primo campaigning months. A slam on a Conservative female former head of state could have the makings of a soft-money campaign contribution to the Democrats in an effort to defeat a candidate Sarah Palin.

Of course, I’m operating with limited information here–just a draft of the script, this teaser-trailer, and a paranoia born of a lifetime of Hollywood sucker-punches–but it’s easy to picture a similar conversation happening between a rising Palin and a couple of condescending male would-be advisers.

Using a Thatcher bio-pic to smear one of the 20th century’s international heroes–who just so happens to be a conservative woman–and tell a cautionary tale to undercut a potential Republican Presidential hopeful–who just so happens to be a conservative woman… it would be devious and brilliant in a way only Hollywood can be.

Let’s hope I’m giving the Hollywood left too much credit and we’re in for a respectful portrayal of Prime Minister Thatcher without any subtext whatsoever, but forgive me for not holding my breath.