With Oscar campaigns in full effect it is easy to get carried away with the illusory tempting mirage of the studio marketing campaigns and forget about what the Oscar nomination should really be about: the performance.  In the words of the Iron Lady, “Well, it used to be about trying to do something now it’s about trying to be someone.”

Meryl Streep effortlessly creates that “someone” in every one of her character performances and on her way does that “something” most of us, let alone her fellow class of actors and actresses, cannot do in a lifetime of trying.  Streep delivers a seminal performance as "The Iron Lady" fearlessly conquering the selfless commitment to letting down the ego and accepting the inevitable inadequacies of old age. 

 Aging can start to feel like a love letter to one’s youth that never writes back.  Return to sender, address unknown.   Streep tangles and weaves a web of psychosis made up of self-doubt and judgment of her past which she willingly allows herself as an actress to get trapped in her performance as the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher.  A spider weaving her own web that will trap the fly she metamorphoses into as the aging reminiscent Thatcher.  

Her performance evokes all the senses as her performance unfolds all the trajectories of human emotion.  From recalling overcoming the doubt and unknowingness of youth, to the power and unrelenting force of Prime Minister, to the withering old age setting in with dementia.

As I watched Streep’s character development as the elder Thatcher, her performance resonated with such strength I could almost smell all the signature scents tied with caring for someone in their twilight years.  As anyone who has cared for a grandparent or aging parent can tell you, the medicinal smells start to permeate the memory and emotion tied to the deteriorating memory of the person you are caring for.

Not only does Streep deliver to the nuances of an old age character performance, she has the uncanny ability to look in the mirror as her character, and perhaps as herself for that matter, and feel betrayed by the person she has become.      

Awards season is about many things: pride, ego, studios, box office gross, accolades, etc.  The list goes on and on but the truth of the matter is they should be about one thing, the performance!  If the Academy Awards wants to redeem itself as the crème de la crem of honors they need to seriously consider the nomination of Meryl Streep for the best actress of the year.    

Some may argue Meryl Streep is nominated year after year and she already has the pleasure of Oscar’s company and does not need another award to validate her status as legend.  Others may argue for her formidable opponents in the category.  Glenn Close as Albert Nobbs pulls off the feat of the gender swap arguably as difficult as the complexities of aging in character.  Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe plays of very cute caricature portrayal yet overall fails to deliver the robust sexuality that made Marilyn a beacon of men’s fantasies the world over.

I would be remiss in this review if I did not point out that "The Iron Lady" was not a well-received film.  But this nomination is about the performance and not the picture itself.  Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher is the best performance of the year in the leading female category.    

At this point it’s safe to say Meryl Streep deserves an award just for showing up on set.  With the role of Margret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady," I argue that this time around it is leagues away from showing up on set; it is arguably the best performance of her illustrious career.     

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