The Lady [Dvd] (2011)

Director Luc Besson proves for the umpteenth time that he?s not one to be restricted by genre with IThe Lady/I. It?s a film that tells the real life story of Aung San Suu Kyi the Nobel-prize winning campaigner who fought for democracy in Burma. The film starts back in her childhood before picking up with her happily married in England. By this time she?s played by Michelle Yeoh with David Thewlis stepping into the shoes of her husband. p Events conspire to take her back to Burma though and IThe Lady/I then concerns itself as much with the separation of husband and wife as it does the political situation. That makes it a bumpy film and sometimes an unfocused one. Yet Besson?s intentions are so strong and his meticulous detail so obvious that the film?s issues are easy to forgive. Furthermore Michelle Yeoh clearly devoted herself to the lead role comfortably giving the best performance of her career. David Thewlis? He?s excellent too as always. p There?s clearly a better film to be made out of the story of Aung San Suu Kyi but that doesn?t make IThe Lady/I a bad one. What?s more thanks to Yeoh?s magnificent central turn even in its weaker moments there?s usually something of interest happening. IThe Lady/I has problems certainly but it has some genuine ambition too. --IJon Foster/I