I don't mind admitting that I felt a little tearful at several points during The Iron Lady, which I watched yesterday at Cineworld in Huntingdon.
I took my children, aged 14 and 17, and they were by far the youngest people there. I looked around and most of the audience were women (or couples) 'of a certain age'.
A lot has been said and written about the film and this week even the Prime Minister chipped in. As it happens, I agree with David Cameron's view that it might have been better to wait until after Lady Thatcher's death before making a film that presents such a personal portrait of its subject in old age.
Hollywood, however, waits for no man (or woman) to die and overall I thoroughly enjoyed it. For an unreconstructed Thatcherite like me there were some spine tingling moments, both real and dramatised. These included newsreel of Britain's warships returning from the Falklands and the magnificent way she confronted and despatched the unlamented 'wets' in her first Cabinet. Her touching romance and marriage to Denis was also nicely handled.
For me (spoiler alert) the only scene that jarred was very near the end when the 'ghost' of DT left (for the last time) with what seemed to be a barbed comment about his wife being (I paraphrase) "alright on your own because you're used to it". (It followed a scene in which Mrs T was perceived to, unwittingly, put politics ahead of family matters - in this case her daughter Carol's driving test.)
My son however interpreted Denis's words differently. He thought it was an affectionate attempt to encourage his wife to survive her twilight years on her own because she had overcome similar isolation throughout her career.
So you can read individual scenes in different ways, but that's what makes good art - the audience decides. What is clear is that this is no hatchet job. Dramatic licence has created some poignant, occasionally uncomfortable moments dramatising Lady Thatcher's increasing dimentia dementia but at no point do they undermine or detract from her stunning political career or her many achievements.
Meryl Streep is undoubtedly magnificent in the role and there is a strong supporting cast. I'm sure there will be lots of arguments about what was left out. For example, one moment that is missing that should have been included (in my opinion) is Mrs T's heroic performance in the House of Commons following her resignation. That day even her opponents were forced to admit that we will never see her like again - well, not in our lifetimes.
This is a minor quibble however. The Iron Lady is a 90-minute Hollywood film not a 26-part Britain at War style documentary.
Friends of Lady Thatcher (who understandably wish to protect both her reputation and her privacy) may not agree, but The Iron Lady is a minor triumph from almost every perspective.
In fact, the only people who may have cause to denounce it are domestic opponents and international enemies of Britain's greatest living prime minister.
Yes, The Iron Lady is that good. Rejoice!