LONDON: Meryl Streep took to a specially-laid blue carpet for the European premiere of "The Iron Lady", the biopic of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher which could win her an Oscar.
Streep braved the drizzle to walk up the carpet - matching Thatcher's trademark blue outfits and her Conservative party's traditional colour - at the BFI Southbank in central London on Wednesday.
Her performance as the grocer's daughter who changed the face of Britain has earned her a Golden Globe nomination, putting her in line to win the third Oscar of her career next month.
While Streep's acting has won acclaim, Thursday's early reviews were mixed.
Times reviewer Kate Muir gave the film three stars out of five, calling it a "performance of great depth that is condemned to stay in the shallow end".
The film has already opened in Australia and the United States, but its premiere at a venue along the Thames from the Houses of Parliament, which Thatcher dominated from 1979 to 1990, has special resonance.
Few of Thatcher's cabinet colleagues or rivals have seen the film, which only opens in Britain on Friday, yet many who have say Streep has captured the essence of the woman whose legacy is still the subject of intense debate.
Film critics have pointed to Streep's bouffant hair and clothes in the role as near-perfect, and the distinctive voice which Thatcher worked so hard to perfect booms throughout the film.
Streep confessed she knew little about Thatcher's policies before accepting the role but defended the decision to make a film about a woman who remains a divisive figure in Britain.
