MERYL STREEP
Meryl Streep as Sophie Zawistowska in SOPHIE’S CHOICE, (1982)
Only after a few movies Meryl seems to have mastered the art in acting on camera. She has us right in the palm of her hands in the very first scene. She invites the camera and the audience into the soul of the character and let’s us, the audience, dive inside with her into the dark secrets of this tragic character. It’s a huge risk as an actor is be so open and vulnerable without an end mark. Her voice crackles, her body moves completely unconscious and unaware of where it’s heading. She taps into lens and into our core and pulls us in deeper than anyone has ever dared. You can’t look away from her. She seems to cast a spell over the other actors and the audience as well. Every twitch, every touch of the neck – like she’s trying to pull out the truth of the past, and even the smallest glances at her young Stingo reveals and relives the memory of her choices, which she can’t escape. The volatile new American love, Nathan, offers no hope of forgetting her past. In waves, the guilt and sorrow wash over her face and you are with her in every moment. Yes, it’s a great story, richly filmed and the score is beautiful. Meryl Streep’s every moment is filled with despair, languid guilt and also a small amount of exuberance and joy that only can be dared by an artist with a combination of natural ability and years of study can provide. Yet every scene feels natural. This is what good acting is all about. Do the work and than let it go. It is a hypnotic performance. Excused of being a technician in her acting – there is not a moment of “craft” here.
Janet Maslin – the Legendary NY Film Critic of all time stated in 1982 “
Miss Streep accomplishes the near-impossible, presenting Sophie in believably human terms without losing the scale of Mr. Styron's invention. In a role affording every opportunity for overstatement, she offers a performance of such measured intensity that the results are by turns exhilarating and heartbreaking. Though it's far from a flawless movie, ''Sophie's Choice'' is a unified and deeply affecting one. Thanks in large part to Miss Streep's bravura performance, it's a film that casts a powerful, uninterrupted spell.”
Meryl disappears into a character as no actor ever has ever done on screen. Truly disappears. The molecular structure of her face feels different from role to role. From the angular Kramer vs. Kramer to the many faces of Sophie to SILKWOOD to Karen Blixion in Out of Africa – Yes we see it’s Meryl – we hear a flawless accent but there’s some else going on that is beyond great acting. She really becomes another person. She ‘disappears’ into a character, there’s no other way to put it. Sophie for me is like watching those people throwing themselves off the twin towers on 9/11. A few moments of cool air trying to escape the burning inferno. We shutter – not wanting her tragic character to hit the ground below, but inevitably – she does. Meryl Streep is fearless (diving in head first) and breathlessly beautiful in this lush film. We love in love with a woman / character that has been dead all along. And a sexiness that no one expect from this actress, but she’s incredibly sexy and sensual without ever showing nudity. We are truly caught in Meryl’s spell, held prisoner in the best way possible. Meryl breathes calmly, and we exhale along with her. Her long haunted memories would normally put any audience to sleep, but Meryl’s astonishing work keeps you riveted every moment. She moves seductively and meets her fate with love and acceptance – at an ending that we know what is coming yet can’t hardly imagine. It’s not just the accent. She commits to the story and into the character like no actor ever has. In any performance there are moments where actors throw away lines – or moments where they may phone a scene in. Meryl never waste's a moment on film. Meryl excruciatingly – joyfully dives into Sophie’s torment, her loves…her pain. Truth sets her free. It’s arguably the greatest piece of film acting – male or female – ever.
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