For about half of sophies choice, meryl streep gives the meryl streep performance weve been waiting for. Set in 1947, the story follows stingo, a young writer who has recently moved to brooklyn to work on a novel. Meryl streep carries this film giving a wonderfully emotional performance as she plays the complex sophie zawistowski. Pakula with meryl streep, kevin kline, peter macnicol, rita karin, year. Even in the first 10 minutes before we know whats going on, i was blown away.
Man or woman, if you havent fallen madly and tragically in love with meryl by the end of this picture then you probably have no soul. She gave a beautiful performance in sophies choice. In the movie sophies choice, i couldnt help but be drawn to her talent in manifesting speech through different languages in this film. Pivotal flashback scene from the film sophies choice 1982 starring meryl streep. Meryl streep was born and raised in summit, new jersey, having an english and germanic decent. No matter how you may feel about the story, sophie s choice is worth watching simply for the pleasure of watching meryl streep act. Thanks in large part to miss streeps bravura performance, its a film that casts a powerful.
Watching this film is like receiving one punch to the gut after another, rounded out with a swift thwack to the head with a twobyfour. Meryl streep stars as sophie, a polish immigrant who shares a boarding house in brooklyn with her tempestuous lover, nathan kevin kline in his feature film debut, and a young writer, stingo peter macnicol. In sophies choice, meryl streep not only gives one of the best performances of her career, but one of the best female performances in film history. A pregnant meryl streep best actress oscar for sophies choice 1982 meryl streep for sophies choice streep collected her second oscar her first was in 1980 wearing a christian leigh gold beaded gown. Here, they play sophie and nathan, a volatile young couple living in a brooklyn boardinghouse in the summer of 1947. It is betraying nothing to reveal that the character of stingo is the alter ego of william styron, upon whose bestselling novel the film. In fact most of the movie doesnt refer to the holocaust but of sophie, the character so brilliantly created by william styron in his novel sophies choice and beautifully adapted into a screen play. I have returned to rewatch sophies choice several times over the past thirty four years. Find out where sophies choice is streaming, if sophies choice is on netflix, and get news and updates, on decider. Mary louise meryl streep born june 22, 1949 is an american actress. Mis bijvoorbeeld nooit meer een film van stanley kubrick of meryl streep. The film stars meryl streep, kevin kline, and peter macnicol. As sophie, an auschwitz survivor living in brooklyn, she isnt one of her usual quavery mystery women, hiding behind shimmering sheets of hair and a tense bud of a mouth. Pakulas 1982 adaptation of william styrons 1979 novel sophies choice is one of those films whose great qualities put its lesser elements in sharp relief.
In the novel, which is set during world war ii, the title character must choose between the lives of her two children while imprisoned in the nazi concentration camp auschwitz. The movie is recommended only if you are a meryl streep fan and for the few concentration camp scenes and the choice scene. Sophies choice is a slow and tragic drama that is harrowing in its delivery. A heartbreaking film set between two timelines that both follow sophie and the decisions in her life. The scene in which we discover the facts behind sophies choice is a gutwrenching one. The back story is told in flashbacks and is excellent. Meryl streeps incomparable performance in sophies choice. Newman greta turken gunther maria halmer robin bartlett marcell rosenblatt. Chief among the former is meryl streeps performance, which garnered her first best actress academy award and helped confirm her as one of the most formidable talents of her generation. The kinds of films where, upon finishing, you punch the air and yell something, just to join in the triumphant atmosphere. Pakulas sophies choice 1982, from william styrons novel about the aftereffects of holocaust evil, gives us film s most memorable incarnation of survivors guilt. In the beginning, the character comes off as a mystery.
If it had come out a year earlier she would have been up against katharine hepburn for on golden pond and she might have lost. Sophies choice is a rare film, literate, deeply moving and gifted with an absolutely aweinspiring performance by meryl streep. To say that meryl streep is great in sophies choice would be a major understatement. A 1982 drama film adapted from william styrons 1979 novel of the same name, directed by alan j. Nominated for a record 21 academy awards, she has won three. Sophies choice, starring the actress meryl streep as a holocaust survivor, opens in theaters.
After enjoying meryl streep and kevin kline in the recent ensemble comedy a prairie home companion, it was great to see their dramatic performances in sophies choice, the movie that made them famous. After enjoying meryl streep and kevin kline in the recent ensemble comedy a prairie home companion, it was great to see their dramatic performances in sophie s choice, the movie that made them famous. Sophies choice film wikimili, the free encyclopedia. Meryl streep stars as sophie, a polish immigrant who shares a boarding house in brooklyn with her tempestuous lover, nathan kevin kline in his feature film debut, and a yo. While the technical part of this performance is brutally perfect, its the emotional. Language and meryl streep in sophies choice warirose. Its hard to imagine there has ever been any better screen acting than meryl streeps in sophies choice. I didnt read the novel, but as a movie it felt perfect in how the story is revealed. And streep has been more or less more more than less a fixture during awards season for her entire career. Sophies entscheidung ist ein us amerikanisches filmdrama aus dem jahr 1982. The second of her three academy award wins, streep here has a curious job in the film.
With meryl streep, kevin kline, peter macnicol, rita karin. Aspiring southern author stingo peter macnicol heads to new york to seek his fortune. Amazons choicekunden haben sich auch diese amazon choiceartikel angesehen. Among other accolades, she has received 32 golden globe nominations, more than any other person, and won eight. Even thirty years after its release, sophie still tops the list of critics favorite and best roles. Stingo shares a brooklyn boarding house with polish emigre sophie and her mercurial lover, a union unsettled by violent behavior. Sophies choice by alan pakula is an excellent movie, propelled to greatness by a staggering performance by meryl streep. This is the film where meryl streep became meryl streep the great and powerful and never looked back. Streep won her first best actress academy award for her performance. She was nominated 6 more times during the 1980s winning again in 83 for sophies choice. After seeing him in this film, john cleese decided to cast kevin kline in his. Pakula directed the movie and wrote the script based on the novel of the same name by william styron. Peter macnicol in sophies choice 1982 meryl streep in sophies choice 1982.
Pakula, who adapted william styrons novel of the same name. Pakula and starring meryl streep in the title role. The concentration camp scenes are very good and the scene where sophie has to make her choice is excellent. Learn about meryl streep through the years via these illuminating. Meryl streep is simply one of the greatest actresses of our time and has truly made her mark. Although its false to believe that sophies choice is all streep, she is without a doubt the most critical component, and her performance came in service of a powerful sophies choice by alan pakula is an excellent movie, propelled to greatness by a staggering. Moving into a dingy brooklyn boarding house, stingo strikes up a friendship with research. Sophies choice is a 1982 american drama film directed by alan j. Streep was too controlling, too calculated, to create.
Some call this film a satire but its more an exercise in demented frivolity, with streep ditching her usual. Though its far from a flawless movie, sophies choice is a unified and deeply affecting one. View meryl streep, as madeline ashton, and bruce willis, as ernest menville, react on the floor at what they see, in a scene from the film death becomes her, 1992. Thus the reason this oscar winning film is my meryl film. As it is, she lost to kate for the french lieutenants woman. Meryl streep is very lucky that sophies choice was made the year it was. She goes beyond the boundaries of acting and completely becomes sophie zawistowska. In flashy horizontalstripe sequins, meryl streep was the radiant, glowy variety of pregnant with daughter mamie gummer. Meryl streep kevin kline peter macnicol josh mostel rita karin stephen d. The movie stars meryl streep as sophie, a polishcatholic woman, who was caught by the nazis with a contraband ham, was sentenced to a. Sophies choice begins as a young southerners odyssey to the unimaginable northto that strange land celebrated by his hero, thomas wolfe, who took the allnight train to new york with its riches, its women, and its romance. If that scene punctuated by meryl streeps silent scream is forever. She is the first lady of american cinema, and a true national treasure. Sophies choice is the title of a 1979 novel by william styron, and in 1982 sophies choice was made into a critically acclaimed film starring meryl streep.
Pakula all the presidents men, the pelican brief and based on a 1979 novel. Sophies choice is a 1982 american romantic drama film that tells the story of a polish immigrant, sophie, and her tempestuous lover who share a boarding house with a young writer in brooklyn. Meryl streep and peter macnicol in sophies choice 1982 meryl streep in sophies choice. If that scene punctuated by meryl streeps silent scream is forever branded on the back of your skull, imagine if you were the. Having been born in america, with no learned second or third language, i was shocked to. Some call this film a satire but its more an exercise in demented frivolity, with streep ditching her usual nuanced performance style to camp it up. No matter how you may feel about the story, sophies choice is worth watching simply for the pleasure of watching meryl streep act. Peter macnicol, meryl streep and kevin kline in sophies choice. Sophie s choice is a 1982 american drama film directed by alan j. Meryl streep sophie zawistowska, kevin kline nathan landau, peter. If meryl streep had inscribed no performance other than this film s tortured polish woman who cant forgive herself for continuing to live while witnessing so much wrenching death, it would have insured her place in film. Meryl streep at 70 as the great american actor turns 70, we tasked one sophie bfi contributor sophie monks kaufman with an impossible choice.
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