The Lady (2011)

It is acknowledged that Burma has one of the longest running military regimes and one of the worst human rights records in the world. Their government, run by the generals, is secretive, oppressive, and brutally violent against those that would call for democracy. This is the backdrop of The Lady.

The story is incredibly interesting. Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of the late pro-democracy leader Aung San who is considered the father of modern Burma. He was gunned down at the end of the 1940's and Suu fled to the United Kingdom. Marrying an Oxford professor, Michael Aris, she and her husband kept a close eye on the goings on of her country until the violence and oppression became too much for her to stand by quietly. Returning to Burma after learning her mother had a stroke she seized the opportunity to take up her father's cause.

Using Aung Sun's martyr status as a jumping off point Suu, having no political or even public seeking experience, found herself with a support base of hundreds and hundreds of thousands almost immediately. Using the teachings of Gandhi to peacefully demonstrate against the military regime her support grew until it was an undeniable threat to the generals. They placed her under house arrest after other forms of persuasion failed and there she remained for 15 years.

She fought on with the help of her husband back in England and her story did not go unnoticed. Suu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and numerous other accolades for her work. Although open elections were held and her party garnered over 80% of seats in Parliament the military still holds a firm grip around the neck of Burma which it shows no signs of relinquishing in the future.

This is the plot, and again it's fascinating. A terrible shame that the movie was awful. Its amateurish script and overly dramatic and sentimental direction made it absolutely impossible to believe the pathos of the characters in a true story that should affect us all. There were possibly three scenes in the entire film in which I was stirred by its images and they were not the ones that I expect the director should have thought. Luc Besson directs--I have not heard of any of the other films that he has done--but he has experience and therefore ought to know better than to force emotions on his audience. I am fully aware that seeing someone shot point-blank in the face is upsetting. I don't need him to tell me it's so.

This might have been forgivable--the actors might have been able to rise above it, at least--had it not been for that script. What a script! What a terribly clunky, awkward, ugly script. The inexperienced and untalented Rebecca Frayn ought to have collected the research for someone with an ear for dialogue to write. It is impossible for an actor, any actor at all, to make something out of nothing. It would be the same as asking da Vinci to paint the Mona Lisa and giving him a broom instead of a paintbrush with which to paint it. It simply cannot be done.

I still do place blame on the actors as well. Excepting Michelle Yeoh as Suu, who is the tremendous actress from Sunshine and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, the acting was just appalling. A tremendously tedious love story was told along side all of the politics with David Thewlis (of the Harry Potter franchise) as Michael. A more contrived set of dialogue could not have been wretched out of what should have been a beautiful relationship, and Thewlis absolutely failed where Yeoh almost did.

When she was not playing opposite garbage--that is when she was Suu the politician--she was radiant and a picture of strength and grace. One moment that particularly touched me was her acceptance of the Nobel Prize. Listening on a portable radio with her maid in Burma she began to play along on a piano to the Vivaldi that the orchestra played following her son's speech on her behalf. That was a genuine bit of acting, unadorned and kept clean of the blackening touch of Besson. That stark simplicity should have run throughout to simply let the story tell itself. The story is enough and Yeoh is capable enough to carry it, but this is a prime example of not letting well enough alone.

1.5/4

*Note: I do hope you will take the time to research this topic. I knew only the tiniest amount and I feel ashamed for it now. Let the Burmese people's story be heard.