Movies-TV

Meryl Streep's Greatest Performance

"Sophie's Choice" is set in Brooklyn in the late 1940s, soon after the end of the Second World War. The three main characters are Stingo, a young writer from the Deep South, and Nathan and Sophie, the couple who befriend him. Nathan is a Jewish New Yorker who tells Stingo that he is a research biologist for a pharmaceutical company. Sophie is a Polish gentile immigrant who has survived imprisonment in Auschwitz by the Nazis. At first the atmosphere is relatively light, one of love, friendship and fun. This part of the film is shot in brilliant colour in a summer setting, and the affluent suburbs of New York seem a safe haven from the horrors of the war that has recently ravaged Europe.Gradually, however, the tone darkens as we become aware that the gentle, beautiful Sophie is hiding a dark secret. We learn that her beloved father was not, as she claimed, an anti-Nazi intellectual, but was actually a rabid anti-Semite and admirer of Nazism whom the Germans murdered by mistake. Nathan originally seems eccentric but vivacious and likable, but as the film progresses he begins to show signs of disturbance, insulting Stingo whom he has previously treated as a friend, and unreasonably suspecting Sophie of being unfaithful to him. We, and Stingo, learn from Nathan's brother that he is in fact suffering from mental illness and that he is only employed by the pharmaceutical company in a lowly clerical position, not as a research scientist, although Sophie remains unaware of these facts.In 1982 there had been many films made about the Second World War, but relatively few about the Holocaust, which seemed to daunt film-makers by its very enormity. Alan Pakula was therefore breaking new ground, particularly as he approached the subject from a controversial angle, tackling the question of war guilt- not the legal and moral guilt of those who perpetrated the Holocaust, but the psychological guilt of those who survived it. After liberation from the camps, many survivors such as Sophie experienced feelings of guilt that they had survived whereas many others, including friends and family members, had died. Sophie's feelings of guilt are exacerbated by her knowledge of her father's odious political views and by the fact that she had attempted to exploit her father's reputation and her fluent knowledge of German in an attempt to ingratiate herself with Rudolf Hoess, the commandant of Auschwitz, whose secretary she became. Sophie's most agonising secret, however, is the "choice" of the film's title- the fact that she was forced by a brutal Nazi officer to choose which of her two children should live and which should die. Her love for the Jewish Nathan, whom she clings to despite his mistreatment of her, may be a way of atoning for her guilt feelings.There are a few weaknesses in the film. During the first half the action can be too slow, and Stingo, as played by Peter MacNichol, seems a fairly weak figure. The scene of his sexual encounter with a girl who talks like a whore and acts like a prude would be funny in a comedy but is out of place in a serious film like this one. Despite these weaknesses, however, this is a film which more than justifies its ambitious theme. Meryl Streep is one of the greatest film actresses of all time, and certainly the best of the early eighties, and this is possibly her best-ever role. She demonstrated her famed linguistic talents, playing the Auschwitz scenes in excellent German and the English-language scenes with a Polish accent, but (contrary to what some hostile critics have sometimes claimed) there is more to her acting than a collection of foreign accents. One criticism that is sometimes made of Streep is that she is too intellectual an actress, self-consciously thinking her way into a part rather than trying to live it emotionally, but in this case at least this seems to be the right approach. It is difficult to see how the "Method" could cope with a role like Sophie, whose emotional experiences are so far beyond those of any actress likely to be called upon to play her. Certainly, I found this one of the most affecting performances I have seen. Never can the "Best Actress" Oscar have been better deserved. Kevin Kline was unlucky not to have been nominated for his part as the tormented and tragic Nathan. This is a dark, sombre film but one of high quality and great emotional power. 8/10

A Beautiful Movie.

Sophie's Choice is a wonderful film, and one of the most tragic stories I've ever heard. Meryl Streep gives a great performance as Sophie, and Kevin Kline and Peter MacNicol are wonderful in supporting roles. Perhaps one of the best movies I've ever seen, and as important for everyone to see. It will break your heart.

Amazing..

I own this video, but rarely watch it, as I do not want to lose any of it's eloquent, thought-provoking brilliance, as I tend to do after multiple viewings of any particular movie. This uncommon, beautiful movie, full of unexpected plot twists and revelations, is sage yet pure, solemn yet witty. Meryl Streep's performance is superb and plausible, as are Kline's and MacNicol's. The choice itself goes far deeper then the choice she must make with her children... It's much more than that. It's a choice most people probably could never comprehend. All we can ask is why.

See it for Streep

This will be the role she is always remembered for. This is the role of a lifetime, the jewel in her crown.

I don't know if I would want to watch this film again. It leaves me spent and empty and sad. I suppose I would watch it to see Streep's astonishing performance. But the themes explored are so brutal, so unspeakable, that they leave me dumbfounded.


Yes, there is beauty here. Cinematography, music, acting, writing. But there is a sense of hopelessness that leaves scars.

It is worth seeing for a beautiful, haunting and incredible acting performance by Meryl Streep.

Don't watch it if you have a weak stomach.

We usually assume that big stars have to debut in B-movies, but Kevin Kline (my favorite actor) made his debut in "Sophie's Choice", an absolutely flawless movie. In 1947, aspiring author Stingo (Peter MacNicol) moves to New York and moves in with concentration camp-surviving Polish immigrant Sophie Zawistowska (Meryl Streep) and her Jewish-American biologist hubby Nathan Landau (Kevin Kline). As the movie progresses, we learn the full story of Sophie's gut-wrenching past, and the truth about Nathan's mental state.I don't know whether this was Meryl Streep's best role ever, but with her impeccable Polish accent, she turns in a top-notch performance, as does the rest of the cast. Alan J. Pakula, who also directed "All the President's Men", turned in another masterpiece here.

Emotionally devastating to see

********Warning, Possible Spoilers*********I will start this review by saying that I watched this movie for one reason, and one reason only. Meryl Streep.I have admired this woman since I first saw her in 1985 in the film, Out Of Africa. Even though I was only a teenager, I recognized that Meryl had a gift. She could touch the heart of even the toughest critic with her amazing abilities. I was aware that she had been in previous films, so over the years I have tried to catch up on her work that I had missed. I didn't realize until a short time ago that Sophie's Choice was the only film I hadn't seen. So, I rented the video, snuggled up with my hubby and some popcorn, and settled in for the evening to watch this much acclaimed film.Boy, was I ever taken for a ride! I had no idea that the movie was about a woman who had survived a concentration camp. I thought, (because of the picture on the cover of the video) that this was a movie about a woman having to choose between two men. At certain points I almost gave up on the film, because it seemed to drag at points, and then throw unexpected curves at me that I couldn't quite follow. I just couldn't understand why Meryl was having such a difficult time choosing to stay with Kevin Kline, because Peter MacNichol seemed like such a geek I could hardly stand him. I firmly believed that she was out of her mind when she told decided to go to the farm with MacNichol. Then I discovered what choice she truly had too make.
I was absolutely devastated emotionally after that scene. I had to stop the film for a full ten minutes before I could bear to watch the rest. I could hardly sleep that night either, myself being a mother of two children; one a boy, age seven, and a girl, age 19 months. I was tormented by the thought of what I would do or say if faced with the same choice. I could never have forgiven myself no matter what choice I made, just as she could not.So now I understand what Sophie's Choice was all about. Overall, I thought the movie could have transitioned from scene to scene better, so that the viewer would not have been so completely horrified and taken by surprise when the true "choice" was revealed. Had I seen this movie in the theater, I would have completely missed the ending because I was so shaken by the previous climactic scene. But as far as Meryl is concerned, 10+++++++ in my book. Bravo, Meryl, bravo!Rank 8/10

Meryl Streep has never been best!

You may consider from now to Meryl Streep as one of the twenty best actress of the XX century . Her magnetism is so powerful in every performance she makes than it is impossible to ignore her.

Nevertheless her last performances in screen have been extremely geometric meticulous cold and apollinean without that expresivity we can watch in this film .
She was in the peak of her powers . And in fact she supports the film like at least in a 95% .
The script was brilliant writen in the best european style . Resource economy , but with fine dialogues and excellent edition and superb photography .
Kevin Kline made the best acting of all his career in the role of this disturbed man .
The film is told in off for Sophie herself . Her hell stage in the concentration camp . Thanks to her domain of the german language she could survive .
But after the horror has gone , she can not avoid to remake her emotional life . In this sense the dramatic parallel runs equal with the pawnbroker , since the memory and its multiple awful images simply can not be erased , even the happiness had been to few steps from her .
The film was carefully filmed with masterful direction .
Superb and consider this work and Schindler list as the supremes american films focusing this painful theme!

Met my expectations halfway...

The whole Stingo component was unnecessary. If any person out there knows where I can buy an edited de-Stingoized version of this film, don't hesitate to tell. I couldn't stand Peter MacNicol. His idea of acting traumatized is enlarging your eyes and blinking once or twice. When I wanna see a drama movie, damnit, I wanna see a drama! Meryl Streep is haunting and magnificent as Sophie, the concentration camp survivor who must make a chilling "choice". (One of the greatest movie moments of all time as far as I'm concerned.) Kevin Kline is okay as Nathan, but his over exuberance makes you want to bitch slap him to no end. I had high expectations. And for the most part Streep fulfills her duty. I think I had a problem with the format in which this incredible story is told. Would have benefitted more from an un-narrated approach.

A shattering tale of sacrifice and survival

The incomparable Meryl Streep unleashes a devastating Academy Award performance (her second, but her only one as Best Actress to date) in this powerful and shattering tale of a Polish immigrant who survives the horrors of Hitler's Holocaust and the choice she is forced to make to her Nazi captors: which of her two children to sacrifice to the death camps. Setting out in post-war Brooklyn, the film introduces Sophie and an aspiring writer (a very young Peter McNicol) who live together with Sophie's tempestuous lover (Kevin Kline, in an amazing dramatic turn). Through flashbacks, director Alan J. Pakula guides us on an intelligent and probing but grippingly painful look at the horrors that War War II was to the millions of Hitler's victims and the extremes that his prisoners undertook to survive. Paluka's blend of Sophie's life in nostalgic Brooklyn and in the concentration camps of World War II is horrific in its effectiveness as it accentuates the absolute terror and inhumanity of the Holocaust. But that dramatic strategy might not have worked with any actress other than Streep. She is simply that devastating and wholly believeable with her perfect Polish accent and her decimated physical appearance because of her time in the custody of her Nazi victimizers. With that one performance, Streep managed to raise the level of leading actresses and likely earned her the distinction of being one of the industry's most respected performers ever. Her raw and honest emotional trauma makes "Sophie's Choice" a well-worthy watching, and the film's subject matters reminds us once again of the evil that man can do.

Riveting final third lifts otherwise tedious character study

Meryl Streep won best actress for giving a penetrating and complex portrayal of a woman whose guilt makes her postwar life a walking death. She is incredibly intense, occasionally inappropriately so, but always memorable.
But, that intensity in combination with Kevin Kline's overplaying is hard to take at times. Add in the slow pacing and you have an unpleasant, albeit well crafted, movie-watching experience. Peter McNichol does his best to provide some irony and insights, and Josef Sommer's superb narration helps move things on a bit. If you can stick with it, you will be rewarded by the unforgettable denouement. It works as art much better than it works as entertainment.

What is Evil?

Caught forever in an existential moment, Meryl Streep's portrayal of the aftereffects of Auschwitz is transfixing. Sophie is the guilt-ridden survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, and Streep's remarkable work brings her leaping off the screen into the hearts and minds of the watcher. This is a complex film which plays the outer tragedy of Sophie's present life against the inner tragedy of the evil she faced during the war.

As the story of Sophie's devastating past unfolds in flashbacks Streep faces choice after choice in her present life. Each seems to eat away at her life. Peter MacNicol and Kevin Kline unite to give performances that that carefully balance Streep's, creating an intense overall effect that cannot be described easily,

The film's emotional and intellectual content make is a bit too lengthy and stagy, but the lulls set the stage for the emotional crises. This is a heart rending story that will not be everyone's cup of tea, but Streep well deserves the Academy Award she got for this film, which was also nominated for best screenplay and best cinematography.

One Character too many

I won't belabor too much on "Sophie's Choice". It has a number of haunting scenes and the preformance of Meryl Streep was certainly deserving of an Oscar. Kevin Kline was alright and I came to understand that his role was fairly essential to give us the overview of a woman defeated years before by a macabre experience. However, I found the role of the writer/narrator to be extraneous and annoying. If the book is like the movie (and I suspect it is) I won't bother with it. I would have assumed that the script writer and the director (if not one and the same) would have filtered out the writer's egotistical efforts to make himself the story. Stingo?!? Give me a break. There was too much to be shared to have to include him. Sorry about that but this was a 2 hour movies that was expanded unnecessarily.

Incredible

This is a movie that I will never forget. Sophie's plight is one that touches another deeply. I highly recommend the book as well.

Beautiful Film, but...

I read Styron's novel, Sophie's Choice, when it first came out. I was mesmerized all the way through. I didn't go to see the movie in the theatre because, knowing the story, I didn't want to be depressed. A couple of years ago, I bought the movie, but it sat on the shelf for a long time, unwatched until last night when I viewed it with my family, none of whom had read the book.


My Polish husband left the room about half way through because he just couldn't stand to be reminded of things that were way too real for him. The rest of us continued to watch, hypnotized by the inexorable unfolding of the tragedy. After it was over, nobody spoke for a very long time. It's that kind of movie.

There is something about the movie, though, that disturbs me. You see, the book had a certain emphasis that was excluded from the movie version. In Styron's novel, he is explicit about the parallels between the Nazi/Jew atrocities and the terrible abuses of the American South against Black Americans. This was an important theme - the universality of suffering - that he then developed more fully by making Sophie, a NON-Jew, the center of the story. In the novel, the suffering of the Jews IS discussed, but it is made quite clear that Hitler's main target was the Slavs. He carefully makes his case that the Holocaust is NOT an exclusively Jewish experience or tragedy. The fact is, 6 million Polish citizens were killed by the Nazis, only half of which were Jews. The other three million victims were Polish Christians and Catholics. For the Nazis, the Poles were, in fact, the First Target: "All Poles will disappear from the world.... It is essential that the great German people should consider it as its major task to destroy all Poles." (Heinrich Himmler)


Hitler quickly took control of Poland by specifically targeting and eliminating the Polish Intelligentsia. During the next few years, millions of other Polish citizens were rounded up made slaves for German farmers and factories or taken to concentration camps where they were either starved and worked to death or used for scientific experiments.


The Jews in Poland were forced inside ghettos, but the non-Jews were made prisoners in the concentration camps very early, as well as inside their own country. No one was allowed out.


That's what Sophie's Choice was about, mainly: the suffering of the Poles, and Sophie exemplified this suffering. But this major theme has been completely lost in the movie version.


Nathan, the "spokesman for the Jews" in the story, is a paranoid schizophrenic which might be considered a subtle way to portray the "paranoid" nature of the Jewish claim for Holocaust exclusivity. Entwined with the major theme of the book is Nathan's inability to cope with the fact that Sophie, a Polish-Catholic, experienced horrifying sufferings that were claimed to be exclusively Jewish.


The monstrous decision that Sophie is forced to make (sometimes idiomatically used as way of describing a choice between two unbearable options, a "Sophie's Choice"), is not even fully portrayed in the film version. In the novel, Sophie describes the fussing and whining and crying of her daughter who was sick with an untreated ear infection prior to being forced to make the choice. It is suggested that her choice was partly influenced by her irritation at the child which makes it all the more monstrous.


Meryl Streep gives a fabulous performance as do Kevin Kline and Peter MacNicol. All three are perfect for their roles. The movie is only slightly slow, but still manages to carry the viewer along. It could have been a better movie if the nuances of Sophie's choice as well as the primary themes of the book had been included. These elements would have made it stupendous instead of just excellent.


All through the book and movie, Sophie faces choices and in every instance, she chooses from a position of illusion of safety and fear, and it seems to be suggested that when she chooses, someone dies as a consequence of her choice.


For example, after her father and her husband have been taken by the Nazis (at that point, you would think that Sophie would have realized that there was no rationality to Nazism since her father and husband were supporters of the Nazis and died anyway), she has a lover, Józef, who, with his half-sister, Wanda, is a member of the Polish Resistance. They ask Sophie to translate some stolen Gestapo documents, but fearing she might get into trouble, she refuses. Two weeks later, Józef is murdered by the Gestapo. One gets the impression that if Sophie had helped, this might not have happened, but that is uncertain. It is only a short time later that Sophie is arrested and sent to Auschwitz with her children. So, again, holding back, acting out of fear for the self, trying to protect the self, is not seen to be a good choice.


When Sophie is in line at Auschwitz, she again tries to save herself and her children by telling a doctor that she is a good catholic, a supporter of the Reich, etc. Even though she is pretending to support the Nazis out of fear for herself and her children, and trying to save them, it is this act that precipitates the terrible choice. There is clearly no humanity in the Nazi mentality and that is something that Sophie never seems to grasp. She continues to think that they are normal humans, that they can be reasoned with, their consciences appealed to, when it is clear they are psychopaths and have no consciences at all. This occurs again in her interactions with camp commandant Hess. She refuses to help others by stealing a radio, and caves in to her fears again and pretends to be a Nazi supporter to try to save herself and her son.


Again and again Sophie makes the wrong choices. Finally, Sophie seems to understand that saving herself isn't worth what she has paid with the coin of her soul. She returns to the deadly embrace of her Jewish lover who, in his paranoid schizophrenia, takes both their lives.


Perhaps a prophetic lesson for our own times. It's a beautiful film, but it could have been better with very little effort.

Powerful, moving and extraordinary performances

A deeply affecting drama that conveys, very powerfully, the experience of meeting new people, getting to know them better, and how this leads to a constantly shifting perception of those around us.The three central performances are amazing. Streep (about whom I know little) shows here why she is so highly respected as an actress, there are moments here where she manages to show - through her expression - every nuance of feeling contained within individual lines of a tale recounted but without going anywhere near over-egging it. You truly believe she is recalling her experience and conveying it, there appears to be no artifice at all - though, rationally, we know that it is all it is.Kevin Klein is great as an energised, spontaneous man - playing his role in such a way that we learn more about him we are as surprised as we should be, but immediately can see the truth of the revelation as to his behaviour.It took me far too long to place the man in the lead role, until I suddenly realised I was looking at the "Perkipsy"(sp?) lawyer from Ally Macbeale. Again, a great performance of a young man having some kind of rite of passage or formative experience.These three performances make the tragedy of the tale all the more powerful, and when we finally discover what Sophie's "choice" was it does as much as a film can do to move us and think about those who were forced to make such decisions in reality.It only misses out on having 10 stars because I am a tight git, and will only award ten to those special films I know I will watch again and again, which tend to be more idiosyncratic than this.

Totally Awesome Flick

Is there no end to the talent of Meryl Streep? She speaks many languages, awesome actress, and can sing. Raised in a Jewish home, I can totally appreciate her character and what a story to tell. The scene about her children and what she had to endure in the camp, was heartwrenching. There is a great book titled, Children of the SS and, every time I see the movie, I think of this book. To live with the legacy that your dad was responsible for the death of innocent lives? This was an intense movie, like Shindler's List, and long. You have to be in the appropriate mood for the flick. I believe Stingo represented a person overly simple....never experienced much in life and brought up in a sheltered environment.

Meryl Streep is simply exceptional

Probably everyone has seen this movie, and probably everyone knows the premise, and probably everyone knows what Sophie's choice was and why it's slowly driving her crazy. But just in case there's a viewing population who is still clueless about this movie (based on the best-selling novel by William Styron), I'm not going to say too much so as not to give it away - because I was stunned with the enormity of it when I saw the movie for the first time and don't want to ruin that potential element of horrible surprise for new viewers.
Setting: Brooklyn, just after WWII.
Characters: Stingo (a young idealistic writer), Sophie (a Polish war survivor of the Holocaust), and Nathan (Sophie's lover, played in his movie debut by Kevin Klein)
Plot line: Something horrible happened to Sophie during her time in a Nazi concentration camp, and details are slowly revealed through a series of harrowing flashbacks.
Advice: See this movie. It's one of the best ever.

Great adaptation, however...

...if you read the book before watching the movie - as I did - you may find yourself a little disappointed, or perhaps a little frustrated with the absence of some details that were left out in the movie. Yes, Pakula did his homework and kept it very loyal to Styron's masterpiece. And yes, the cast is really superb. It is understandable how hard it must have been to squeeze such a powerful and descriptive story into a 150 min. film, so after all it is worth buying this DVD. The special features are also great.

Sophie's Choice wih Mertl Streep

I decided to buy this movie, as it has been in my Best Ten Movies List for
a number of years. Ms Streep is an amazing actress, and does the best foreign
accents I've heard. I would give this movie six stars. M. MacLeod, MD

Mixed feelings... but Meryl is an amazing actress!

I agree that "Sophie's Choice" is powerful and emotional when you first watch it. But after thinking about it, I think the movie was a cheat. It was like the writer came up with the most intense scenario possible and waited 2 1/2 hours to show us what. And so when it finally did come, it was way too over-the-top to be taken at all seriously. And it's pretty bad when you reject this kind of scene because of problems with the writer's credibility. You were expected to bawl as much as Miss Meryl did. Of course, there's lots of emotional stuff to chomp on up until... Anyway, I do think that Meryl Streep's performance is breathtaking. Someone once compared it to the insides of a Swiss watch! Even though he meant it negatively, I thought this was perfect. It's fascinating the way she can change herself. And contrary to the popular tone, I don't think that Miss Meryl really takes anything too seriously... I think that she's play-acting, and she just has an unusual combination of creative intelligence in knowing how her character might act, an ability in never letting go of that and the great mime's gift to make it visual. And she always has so much fun with her characters, the bigger the accent, the more she can run away with it. This fun, I think, is the key to Meryl's greatness. And since Sophie is SO fairy tale-tragic, it's her most enjoyable performance of about 20 really superb ones. I love her accent here, it's charming and compelling. And even though I WORSHIP Pauline Kael, who doesn't like Streep, I don't see why a performance has to have the kind of integrity this incredible actress is often criticized for not having.
She may be consciously thinking all the time, but creating your character as you are going along with it has got to be an indescribably exciting thing.
And I find all the details she incorporates into her performances to be indescribable and exciting. Her best performances are the ones that she has had the most fun with: she plays to herself. Furthermore, I think Streep's timing is incredible to watch because her control comes with a marvelous sense of when to release a reaction or a line. So much for her brilliance, the best way to judge "Sophie's Choice" on its own terms is to think about the movie when she's not there. Kevin Kline gives an over-the-top performance in an over-the-top role, Peter MacNichol is petty-sensitive.
Some of the compositions are pretty, and the soundtrack is moving. Other than Streep, movie is dull and takes itself too seriously. Maybe putting some of the same plot elements in an 85 minute fairy tale would have been better.