Meryl Streep flashes her mettle in 'Iron lady' [Video]

There's something deliciously clever about the way the teaser for "The Iron Lady" delays the money shot of Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher and focuses instead on her handlers plotting an image makeover; it's a piece of movie marketing that takes the "tease" part of its name seriously.  When the spot finally does give us a glimpse of the iron one, it's worth the wait -- Streep is composed and convincing as the former British prime minister, and her facility with voices only enhances the effect. The context of the scene is surprisingly effective too -- it manages to convey both the attempts to manipulate Thatcher and her willingness to push back.

All of which is enough to forgive the teaser's needless shout-out to the production company and whet the appetite for a winter release.

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--Steven Zeitchik

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