A combination of a picture taken on May 27, 1986 in Jerusalem and of a handout image obtained on February 9, 2011 from Pathe Productions Ltd shows former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (L) and US actress Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in the film 'The Iron Lady'. — Photo by AFP

LONDON: Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has criticised the film, ''The Iron Lady,'' arguing that its timing was poor.

Cameron told the BBC on Friday that the film that depicts an aging ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher should have been made ''another day.'' He says it is more about dementia than an ''amazing prime minister.''

Cameron says one must wonder, ''why do we have to have this film right now?''

But Cameron went out of his way to praise Meryl Streep, who portrays Thatcher. He says she was ''fantastic.''

One of the country's most divisive leaders, Thatcher led Britain from 1979 until 1990. She fought a war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, saw the fall of communism and was branded the Iron Lady by Soviet journalists for her steely resolve.