Sophie’s Choice (1982) - Best Actress, Meryl Streep
Sophie Zawistowski, played by Meryl Streep in the film, is a Polish Catholic who survives the German camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. She lives with Nathan Landau, played by Kevin Kline, a New York man who had saved her from anemia. The movie is set in the context of the summer of 1947 and is largely about the interactions between this couple and a southerner named Stingo.
The performance is largely commendable. This especially apparent on the scene when she is ordered to choose the child to keep between her son and daughter. She manages to find a perfect balance between fear, anger and determination to resist the inevitable outcome. This makes her performance remarkably believable. She manages to maintain this great performance throughout the movie but there is a peculiarity in how Sophie (Streep) accepts the oscillation of Nathan’s temperament from happy romanticism to violent and angry fits filled with paranoia and rage. She seems hardened enough by the bad occurrences in her life to be able to resist the abuse from her husband but this is not to be. One of the hardest tasks that Meryl Streep faces is in balancing her act and relaying the emotions required for her part adequately. This is because not only does have to lose her little daughter to the Nazi gas chambers but also perform her duties as a secretary to the camp commandant. Meryl Streep plays her role well in the film but fails to bring out the nuances of “Sophie’s Choice” in a manner that clearly illustrates the primary themes the movie was intended for. This is because as compared to the book from which the film is derived, the movie lacks a bit in direct clarity of themes. However, this lack of clarity may be attributed to the movie as a whole. Streep plays her character with unparalleled brilliance that she outdoes everything else. Her portrayal of a multidimensional and complicated character begs the question: What is Meryl Streep’s acting style?
Meryl Streep asserts that she is a classical actor who merely uses imagination and is not a method actor. In Godoski (1), she says that she was not grounded in the Method type of acting, which has its basis on realism. She further explains that her style is based on pretending to be someone extraordinary in her roles in films. She says how she undertook classes in dancing and how she incorporates elements of dance into her performances. Dance taught her that the strength of her being in illustrating a character and having breath is located in her core.
If I had to play the character of Sophie in the film “Sophie’s Choice”, I would, first and foremost, dedicate a lot of time in research on the historical occurrences as the context of the film requires. This includes reading similar stories (such as that depicted in this film) and following the life journeys of those who survived the Nazi injustices. This would provide me with the right set of emotions, feelings and views I would need to portray the character of Sophie. Secondly, I would use the method style of acting by drawing upon happenings in my past and present to be able to exhibit the emotions required for the various parts of the film. This is because Sophie’s character demands and emotional performance on both extremes.
Work Cited
Godoski, Andrew. "Industry 101: Method Acting vs. Classical Acting - Screened." Movie & TV Reviews, News, and Video Commentary - Screened. Version 1. http://www.screened.com, 1 Dec. 2010. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://www.screened.com/news/industry-101-method-acting-vs-classical-acting/1334/>.
