Sophie's Choice
Screen favorite Meryl Streep received an Academy Award for her portrayal of Sophie Zawistowska in this penetrating drama set in 1947 post-World War II Brooklyn. Kevin Kline plays her all-consuming lover, Nathan. The story revolves around Sophie's struggle as a Polish-Catholic immigrant in the United States who had survived a Nazi concentration camp. The lovers' drama unfolds through the observations of a friend and would-be writer, Stingo. As the trio grows closer, Stingo discovers the hidden truths that they each harbor, resulting in a narrative that is both captivating and moving.
Member Reviews
Great performance by Meryl Streep - usernameya
She simply steals the film with her great acting. Sometimes when you watch a well know actor do a role, it's hard to lose yourself and believe them as that character. But Meryl just nails it. I was quite surprised. I'm pretty young so I can see why this film stood the test of time. The story is quite good as well and very real as it probably happens more then we may think.4/5, but only because Streep's performance was exceptional - Frank_Ricard
I'm bucking the trend here, but I think that this film could have been better.
I've given the film 4/5, largely because Meryl Streep's performance is extremely powerful and moving.
On the other hand, Kline's performance (who I generally quite like) I found to be over the top and distracting. It was almost as if he was playing a comedy role, when in reality his character needed more gravitas to be effective. I attribute this to a shortcoming in the director, not the actor. It's the director's role to set the tone for the actor, and correct if necessary.
The holocaust scenes were very effective, but again, that was because Streep was the focal point.
All in all a good film, but a better director could have produced a better film.See This Again - legalwright
It has been over 20 years since this movie was released and it has not lost any of its emotional poignancy. Set in 1947, Merryl Streep plays Sophie Zawitowska, a beautiful Holocost survivor, now settled in Brooklyn New York. Haunted by her past, she engages in an intense relationship with Nathan (Kevin Kline), a schizophrenic genius. All of this is observed and recorded by young Stingo (Peter MacNicol), a young aspiring writer from the southern States.
Sophie's wounds are so deep and so layered that she cannot be true to herself nor to her friends. She engages in an eroticism with Nathan that belies her emotional frailty - an attempt to fully live in the moment and keep the ghosts of the past at bay. The movie contains long flashbacks of her experience at Auschwitz which are utterly absorbing and essential to our understanding of Sophie's character.
This film really is a must see. If you saw it years ago, see it again. It is emotional, heartbreaking and rich in the stuff of life.
Member Reviews
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Great performance by Meryl Streep - usernameya
She simply steals the film with her great acting. Sometimes when you watch a well know actor do a role, it's hard to lose yourself and believe them as that character. But Meryl just nails it. I was quite surprised. I'm pretty young so I can see why this film ...4/5, but only because Streep's performance was exceptional - Frank_Ricard
I'm bucking the trend here, but I think that this film could have been better.
I've given the film 4/5, largely because Meryl Streep's performance is extremely powerful and moving.
On the other hand, Kline's performance (who I generally quite ...See This Again - legalwright
It has been over 20 years since this movie was released and it has not lost any of its emotional poignancy. Set in 1947, Merryl Streep plays Sophie Zawitowska, a beautiful Holocost survivor, now settled in Brooklyn New York. Haunted by her past, she engages ...