Views on Margaret Thatcher are divided, but The Iron Lady - a film about the former Prime Minister's life - manages to unite those with opposing political views. Joe Willis reports.

WILL I need to sit in the middle to prevent a rumpus? Is their likely to be booing? Are popcorn and Ice Blasts appropriate?

Accompanying two men from either side of the political spectrum to the cinema to watch a film about Margaret Thatcher throws up a number of questions.

Fortunately, the event passed without unpleasantness and we decided against snacks.

Accompanying the Echo to the Showcase cinema at Teesside Park were Ian Galletley, chairman of the North-East Conservatives, a Tory councillor in Darlington and manager of the office of Stockton South MP James Wharton, and Ben Sellers, a former regional organiser for the Trades Union Congress and now owner of the left-wing radical People’s Bookshop, in Durham City.

Ian has met Mrs Thatcher on a number of occasions - the most recent in 2002.

Ben has never met Margaret Thatcher but did travel to London to campaign against her plans to introduce the Poll Tax. He denies being involved in the violence that day, saying he ran away from the police when the trouble started with his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend who had attended on the promise of a “carnival atmosphere”.

The Iron Lady opened across the country on Friday to a mixed reception from audiences and critics.

The former leader is played by Meryl Streep and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, who also worked with the actress in Mamma Mia!

So what did the critics think?

“A missed opportunity,” says Ian.

“It was a fabulous performance by Meryl Streep but basically it was a trivial film.”

Ben agrees, saying: “It was a film about a person I didn’t really recognise.”

Although Ian believes the chronology and public speeches are generally accurate, he points out that important facts and people are ignored, such as Mrs Thatcher’s sister and miners’ leader Arthur Scargill.

Both men say that the film underplays the significance of the Poll Tax riots in bringing a halt to Mrs Thatcher’s career, while Ben believes the Falklands War was trivialised.

He adds: “The film failed to capture just how divided the country was during her time. The North/South divide was huge.

“I would have liked to have seen it more gritty. I wanted to know what motivated her, the arguments she had with ministers, I wanted more about her feelings about Edward Heath - If I’m honest I wanted to feel a bit of anger.”

Ian feels that only once did the viewer get a glimpse of the film it could have been - when the Prime Minister agonised on whether or not to sink the Argentine cruiser the Belgrano during the Falklands War.

“It was more a film about getting old and suffering a dementia,” he adds.

Ultimatetly, both men admitted that they enjoyed watching the film up to a point, but felt The Iron Lady did nothing to add to their knowledge - or change their views - on a woman loved and loathed by so many.