One of the problems that arises not only in this miniseries, but any artistic translation of modern history is this: how do you tell a public what happened to them when they so freshly remember?
The focal event of this 1980s-based series, Brian Walden's infamous interview of the Prime Minister following Chancellor Nigel Lawson's resignation, happened only 35 years ago - some viewers may remember watching it live. Presenting such a time period etched into the national memory proves a challenge for James Graham's screenplay, unable to set a consistent tone on a woman deemed political marmite. In pragmatic board room terms, sitting on the fence ensures viewing numbers stay up, no one wants a polemic for their evening TV viewing. However, this limits the series in any sense of consistency or direction, with Thatcher fluctuating from her usual assertive self cursing out 'wets' and 'wobblers', to a sympathetic woman, stabbed in the front by her own party. The reverberations of her time in office are felt to this day, but seeking to appeal to both sides of the divide is too egalitarian for convincing drama.
In a true Thatcher fashion, the political focus of the series is mostly economic, the script laden with the jargon of the supply-side economic revolution - nostalgic for any viewers of a certain age. The social impact of Thatcher's policies are reduced to montages of archive footage, of punk fashion and the odd protest, set to jangly eighties tunes. The devastating impacts of deindustrialisation, horrific incidents arising out of Northern Ireland and widening inequality gap are not tackled. Even as the show praises the 'long-form political interview', it knows that its 2-hour running time is not long enough to address such monumental consequences. I found myself wondering how old the picketing adolescents seen in a small flash of film would be now, whether they were watching. What would they make of their being sidelined in the narrative?
With a dithering script, the miniseries stays a float with two stellar central performances. Steve Coogan has been consistently proving he is not out of his depths outside of comedy with a well-received West-End turn in Dr. Strangelove last year. Amazingly there is not a trace of his Alan Partridge to be seen here, even against a broadcasting background. Harriet Walter adopts the famous headmistress-esque voice of Mrs. Thatcher, and with the iconic hair, pearls and powersuit, transforms herself into that mythological character. The two work well as great forces in orbit of each other and breathe as much life as possible into the screenplay.
Just because it is difficult to represent modern history does not mean it should be avoided entirely, and the show should be given praise for giving an interesting recollection of the time. But if they adapt Paxman's Newsnight, then I'll really raise an eyebrow.
Brian and Maggie is available to stream on Channel 4
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