Margaret Thatcher

Much of the history of England has been shown on BBC TV, in docudramas and drama series as well as documentaries and illustrated lectures. Sitcoms have played a role too; Margaret Thatcher's appreciation of the satirical anti-Establishment Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister led to royal honours for their creators. Not surprisingly, she herself has been fictionalised on TV, with her early political career outlined in Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley, subtitled How Maggie Might Have Done it.

The north London constituency finally gained her long-sought entry to the House of Commons. As the tongue-in-cheeky screenplay suggests, the new Finchley MP could then set out on her long march to victory over Conservative Party fogies, misogynists and the man who should have been her blood brother, Ted Heath.

His father was a builder, hers a grocer, and that gave writer Tony Saint two ironic jokes to set up in a script featuring many references to future events. Unless a viewer knows about them, as many BBC TV viewers would have done, the pleasure's lost in noting how first-timer Saint fits so many in so amusingly - from young Mark's African travel wish to the milk controversy during Thatcher's time at the health ministry.

The movie's success depends on its actors. As a lightly satirical caper, it looks and sounds like Dad's Army meeting Yes Minister on the way to an old-fashioned Hollywood romcom. Andrea (The Devil's Whore) Riseborough's Margaret Thatcher, nee Roberts, is pretty and vampishly coquettish, deliberately exaggerating the future Prime Minister's strengths, accent, walk and weaknesses. Similarly, Rory (TV, RSC and National Theatre) Kinnear's Denis is probably too self-effacing and subservient to represent the real Mr Thatcher. It's hard to imagine that his Denis was married before and successful in business, but this one is an ideal partner for this ultra-focused Margaret.

The excellent supporting cast is a bewitching parade of small-minded, bigoted cameo figures from an older generation of Tory politics, among whom one wonders how this movie's buttoned-up non-smiling Ted Heath (Samuel West) rose to the top. Backing up the ensemble are the usual noteworthy BBC costumes, set designs and period props (including handbags of course). Overall, good TV comic-drama, painless history lessons, and an entertaining movie neatly paced by director Niall MacCormick, another new British talent.