Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister, now in her 80s, is at home having breakfast in Chester Square, London. Although her husband, Denis, has been dead for several years, her decision finally to clear out his wardrobe has triggered a slew of memories. Indeed, as she sets about her day, Denis appears to her as real as when he was alive – loyal, loving, mischievous.

Margaret's staff express concern to Carol Thatcher about her mother's apparent confusion of past and present. The concern becomes stronger when, at a dinner she hosts that night, Margaret captivates her guests but is then distracted by memories of the dinner at which she first met Denis 60 years previously.

With the dinner party over, Margaret retires to bed but cannot sleep. She gets up and digs out some old home movies which she watches and reflects on the sacrifices made in her private life in pursuit of her career.

The day after the dinner party, Carol has persuaded her mother to see a doctor. Margaret maintains that there is nothing wrong with her. She reveals nothing to the doctor about the vivid memories of key moments of her life that are invading her waking hours.

Back at Chester Square, Margaret fights against the rising tide of memories. She packs up Denis’s belongings and asserts her independence – of course she will have memories but she also has a life in the present - a smaller life than before, but one no less worth living.

The Iron Lady all but confirms that Meryl Streep is an acting goddess. It is easy to lose count the number of times she has been nominated for an acting Oscar since her breakthrough film, The Deer Hunter (1978), for almost every other year her name would likely be on the list. Not the decade's biggest surprise, Streep has been nominated again for her role as Margaret Thatcher in this Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!, 2008) film. Her last Oscar win was for Sophie's Choice (1982). Now that's quite a long time. All eyes are on the Academy if they will give Streep her third Oscar.

The Iron Lady is a film of immense potential, a film that ought to easily capture the hearts of moviegoers alike, like The Queen (2006) or The King's Speech (2010). Alas, it is one of the year's biggest disappointments. To be honest, it is a convoluted mess. It tries to be smart, but trips up and falls flat to the ground. Not to be confused with the Luc Besson film, The Lady (2011), a biographical feature on that great, freedom-fighting woman of Burma, The Iron Lady takes a look at United Kingdom's first woman Prime Minister, and the price she paid for power.

Streep's performance is breathtaking, but it is a real shame that the film is not. It is a pity to see such a great actress starring in a mediocre film. But first the plaudits. The hair, makeup, and costume design are impeccable, capturing Thatcher with unnerving accuracy. Moreover, Streep makes us forget that she is an American playing a British icon. That's how astonishing she is. It is only in a scene when Streep's Thatcher sees the real Thatcher on television, and questions why she looks different that we consciously come to realize the difference.

We will also come to realize that the film seems to be going nowhere after the half-hour mark. The Iron Lady gets off to a slow, drabby start that seems never-ending. We see Streep playing an old Thatcher with signs of dementia, and after twenty-odd minutes, we still see Streep playing an old Thatcher with signs of dementia. Only that the signs are more worrying. You see, she hallucinates that her dead husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent), is still with her. The entire film centers on this recurring theme, and it is very agitating to see Denis pop up here and there as if he was the clown from It (1990).

What we want to see is Thatcher when she was in office, her struggles, her victories, her verbal battles against the opposition, her personal life etc...yes, all these are depicted in the film, but without any clear focus. And when things start to shape up, the film cuts abruptly and returns to the Thatcher & Mr. Clown show. And shockingly, it does this many times. Fortunately, Streep's performance make this a passable film. Still, The Iron Lady  doesn't win our hearts. It doesn't know whether to take itself seriously or not. And most annoyingly, it tries too hard to do both.