Readers' Ranking: Streep's Oscar Noms, #10-6
Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 10:00PM Previously on Streep Reader Rankings we covered The French Lieutenant's Woman, Music of the Heart, Doubt, The Deer Hunter, One True Thing, and Ironweed. Now we hit the top ten. Ten and Nine were a statistical tie, constantly trading dominance as I tallied the results of your ballots. Since both films were listed in last place on 7% of the ballots, I broke the tie by looking at first place votes. Only one of the two had any.
TOP TEN STREEP NOMINATED PERFORMANCES
According to The Film Experience Readers
10. Julie & Julia (2009)
Role & Balloting: Streep has played many biographical parts in her long career which accounts for some of her record-obliterating nomination haul (8 of her 17 nominations are for biographical roles and she is now 5 nominations beyond her nearest rival Jack Nicholson). This widely seen warm serio-comic interpretation of the famous chef Julia Child is the last film in the countdown without any #1 placements on reader ballots.
Who Won the Oscar: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Other Nominees in Guesstimate Order of AMPAS Love: Meryl (Julie & Julia), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
The Dread Sixth Place Finish?: One supposes the fifth slot was neck and neck between Mirren and Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria). There wasn't a ton of enthusiasm for either film though, since the top four candidates absorbed all the Oscar heat.
09. Out of Africa (1985)
Role & Balloting: Streep had another huge success with this romantic epic about the Danish author Isak Dinesen (aka Karen Blixen). If Geraldine Page hadn't been so absurdly overdue (It was her 8th nomination which was at the time the longest stretch by any actor without ever having won the gold. Peter O'Toole now holds the record with 8 nominations without a win) the Best Actress race would've been between Whoopi and Streep both headlining very very big hits. (The Eighties were a different time with box office and moviegoing; people still flocked to prestige dramas in big numbers.)
Who Won the Oscar: Geraldine Page, The Trip To Bountiful
Other Nominees in Guesstimate Order of AMPAS Love: Whoopi Goldberg (The Color Purple), Meryl (Out of Africa), Anne Bancroft (Agnes of God) and Jessica Lange (Sweet Dreams)
The Dread Sixth Place Finish?: Cher was left on the outside looking in for Mask as the mother of a deformed boy. The snub even resulted in an Oscar night moment when Cher, clad in one of her typically outre outfits quipped:
As you can see, I did receive my Academy booklet on how to dress like a serious actress."
Reader Comment. Marcos writes:
I first noticed Streep in The Deer Hunter. I liked her a lot and was impressed, but I became utterly fascinated when I was able to realize the extent to which she immersed herself in roles that were so different. Choosing between Bridges and Out of Africa [for #1] was difficult. One of Streep's best scenes ever was her lover's funeral. She moves forward to grab a handful of earth to throw it on Robert Redford's grave. She moves ahead, but the camera stays still. She grabs some earth and extends her arm to throw it on his grave. Her hand starts shaking and, without releasing the earth, she brings it to her chest and walks away."
Three more Oscar roles after the jump
08. Postcards From the Edge (1990)
Role & Balloting: Streep played a fictionalized version of Carrie Fisher named "Suzanne Vale" in this mother/daughter comedy about self-sabotaging actresses. This performance still seems to be divisive, placing generally very high or very low on the ballots. Pssst, it's a favorite of yours truly and I'll share my own rankings soon.
Who Won the Oscar: Kathy Bates, Misery
Other Nominees in Guesstimate Order of AMPAS Love: Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman), Anjelica Huston (The Grifters), Meryl (Postcards) and Joanne Woodward (Mr & Mrs Bridge)
The Dread Sixth Place Finish?: We could probably debate this one all day as there are several candidates (including the critically lauded Mia Farrow in Woody Allen's Alice --she's great in that one. Sigh, yet another Mia Farrow snub) but my guess is Michelle Pfeiffer was a distant sixth for Russia House given that she was a failed frontrunner the year before, an A list star paired with an Oscar winner (Sean Connery) and doing an accent and she still had "when will she win?" momentum. (Pfeiffer has been pretty cursed with presumed sixth spot finishes throughout the years as that obviously happened to her for 2002's supporting actress lineup and probably for 1993's actress lineup as well)
Reader Note. David Writes:
Suzanne Vale doesn't have an exotic accent, impressive mimicry and doesn't live in an (apparent) epic context. But I think it's probably Meryl's most complex role. I love her sense of humor, her strength and her weaknesses even more. She shows all her wounds in so many different, subtle ways: with bitter humor, by singing (OMG what singing!), but even more through listening to her mother sing, or hiding herself in the wardrobe. Suzanne speaks through her jokes: she knows everybody thinks she's just a spoiled woman who shouldn't complain so she just laughs bitterly about all her troubles when what she's really doing is screaming for help. She's really damaged, but despite everything dying to have fun.
07. A Cry in the Dark (1988)
Role & Balloting: This crabby severe performance is still well regarded. Aussie Lindy Chamberlain was all but crucified by the media for being insufficiently emotive when she claimed that dingos snatched her baby but Meryl was lauded for recreating her, abrasive personality and all. Though this role only received one first place finish, and though it was missing from a lot of ballots (28% of the voters hadn't seen it), it nearly always placed high for those who had. It is one of Streep's most virtuosic transformations.
Who Won the Oscar: Jodie Foster, The Accused
Other Nominees in Guesstimate Order of AMPAS Love: Glenn Close (Dangerous Liaisons), Meryl Streep (A Cry in the Dark ...I can't remember when "give her Oscar #3!" talk started. It may have been as early as Silkwood but it was definitely on by 1988 though it died down considerably after this until the late Aughts rolled 'round), Melanie Griffith (Working Girl) and Sigourney Weaver (Gorillas in the Mist)
The Dread Sixth Place Finish?: I can't even talk about this year. Susan Sarandon's "comeback" in Bull Durham was totally statue worthy, let alone for a nomination. She had traction, too, but it didn't pan out somehow in the end. I blame Melanie Griffith for that last minute comedy hit which sucked all the oxygen out of the room for everyone else but especially for Sarandon who she bested for the Globe.
Reader Note. William Writes:
She certainly scares me more than any dingo would. I love how hard her eyes are. I don’t remember one moment where she seeks sympathy for her character. For the movie to work at all the actress must convey the unreachable hardness of the character (to explain why the world was so judgmental and unforgiving) while also keeping us intrigued and involved. In some ways this may have been her most difficult challenge as an actress.
Let's pause here to soak it all in.
#10 and #9 were a statistical tie and #8 and #7 were very close. The top six were the clear winners of this "Reader Ranking" experiment, considerably outdistancing the other ten nominations.
06. Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979)
Role & Balloting: Meryl played Joanna Kramer, the one who wanted out in this divorce drama. It became the top grossing film of 1979, it's title shorthand for divorce it so captured the zeitgeist. It is one of those best pictures that people sometimes complain about since it beat not one but two bonafide auteurial masterworks (Apocalypse Now and All That Jazz) but damn if this isn't still a remarkably potent affecting drama.
Who Won the Oscar: Meryl Streep (1ST WIN!), Kramer Vs. Kramer
Other Nominees in Guesstimate Order of AMPAS Love: Let's list them alphabetically instead: Jane Alexander (Kramer Vs. Kramer), Barbara Barrie (Breaking Away), Candice Bergen (Starting Over) and Mariel Hemingway (Manhattan). The only thing I knew about the Oscars at this point in life was that Star Wars had lost to Annie Hall and my parents and older brothers were really mad about it. "The Oscars! Pissing People Off For 84 Years!"
The Dread Sixth Place Finish?: I'm going to guess Valerie Harper for Chapter Two. She was a Globe nominee and her co-star Marsha Mason did manage a nomination in Best Actress.
Reader Note. Chris writes:
I think she has (so far) actually won for her two strongest performances, both of which I love. She is just stunning and haunting as Sophie but her Joanna Kramer is equally brilliant. She makes you literally feel the internal struggle of this Mother and she is heartbreaking in the courtroom scene - "I'm his Mother, I'm his Mother".
Reader Comments (49)
I think sixth place in 2009 was between Emily Blunt, Marion Cotillard, and Sairose Ronan.
Not gonna lie, it is nearly essential that "Adaptation" be in the top five. Acting really doesn't get much better than her in that film. I'd put it up on nearly the same level as "Sophie's Choice."
I feel like they all got a pretty equal amount of votes.
I think the 1990 race had Joanne Woodward and Anjelica Huston both close to Kathy Bates until the end. Those 2 shared most of the critics awards and I seem to remember most pundits believing Meryl and Julia were the only ones out of real contention.
I think that her performance in "One True Thing" is way too low. That is one of her top 5 best. She was fantastic in that.
Patryk -- no argument on Huston. But i was doing who i think they voted for. I think Huston deserved the Oscar the year (AMAZING) but the character is so severe and so cold i can't imagine that AMPAS was falling in line for it the way critics and the media were. it had none of the thrill of popcorn escape that Kathy Bates had though she also played a "villain"
Wow, Out of Africa, Kramer and Postcards would probably have made my top 5 - but I'm sentimental, and they meant a lot to me.
This is all speculation, of course, but my mom is a huge Woodward/Newman fan, and 1990 was one of the few times she followed the race pretty closely; as I recall, she and Huston were the frontrunners, scooping up the critics' prizes (Woodward and Newman even rented a house in LA so Woodward could campaign - she really wanted that Oscar), until Bates unexpectedly won Best Actress - Drama at the Globes. I don't think many people thought that Meryl or Julia were serious contenders that year.
Damn, I wish I had been aware of this Streep retrospective earlier. Would have liked to participate (I don't believe there is a Streep movie that I haven't seen).
A statement by rick (yesterday) certainly shocked me when he said "Streep was not nominated for "The Hours" because her name was accidentally left off of the list of possible nominees." Wow, can anyone confirm the accuracy of this report?
I remember feeling totally gutted when she was not nominated for her Mrs. Dalloway stand-in Clarissa Vaughn. The scene that I often (to this day) find myself lingering over is the moment when she is talking to the haughty, Louis Waters (Jeff Daniels) in her kitchen. So many warring sentiments are threatening to engulf the room (ie her contempt for Waters, her acute concern for Richard, her second guessing on the appropriateness of the party she is about to host). It really is a triumph of emotional juggling and restraint (and the breaking eggs intercuts serve her agitation perfectly). It was during that scene when I strongly felt what Virgina Woolf meant when she wrote of Mrs. Dalloway: "She sliced like a knife through everything; at the same time was outside, looking on... far out to sea and alone".
Anyway, had Streep been nominated for The Hours that performance would definately be in my top three.
As a side note, I think that Norma Aleandro (The Official Story) was in competition for the sixth spot with Cher (Mask) in 1985. Didn't they co-win the Best Actress award at Cannes?
And when I think of Streep in A Cry in the Dark, it's still hard to beleive that Jodie Foster beat her for such a bells and whistles performance. My sense is that the academy probably regrets that decision (and I have a hunch they are kicking themselves for not awarding her back in those earlier years, mainly so that they would not have to contend with the uncomfortable "over do" scenario that they now, regrettably, find themselves in today. If Foster's performance was a punch, Streep's Lindy Chamberlain was a sucker punch.
The highs and medium highs of Meryl's career are all the more impressive considering the lost capital after her spate of comedies in the early '90s (though I cherish every one). The 3rd Oscar momentum died down after "A Cry in the Dark," but Meryl worked some magic, and here we are today!
5. The Bridges of Madison County (Her second great romance! A decade after her first...)
4. Adaptation (Was she obviously the best BSA nominee in 2003 or not? I'm ready for her to headline another "Adaption.")
3. The Devil Wears Prada (Duh.)
2. Silkwood (My personal favorite today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow.)
1. Sophie's Choice
A Cry In The Dark is my favorite Streep performance, and I have seen them all. I didn't participate in the poll because I ... well, I just forgot. But I so distinctly remember seeing A Cry In The Dark in the theater and walking out completely devastated. She so perfectly captures the complexity of her character. She is sad and aloof and fearful and angry and wrecked all at once, and Streep reveals all of this in a way that is not showy at all. I really, really love that performance. Today a lot of people who don't like Meryl Streep describe her as technically proficient but emotionally distant. In A Cry In The Dark, she plays emotionally distant in a way that reveals so much emotion. It's some of the best acting I've ever seen, right up there with Al Pacino in Serpico, DeNiro in Godfather 2, and other classic performances from the late 20th century.
People talk about Meryl being overdue for a third Oscar, but reviewing these nomination fields is a reminder of how fortunate she is to still be landing challenging roles. Sigourney Weaver, Jessica Lange, Holly Hunter, Susan Sarandon, Anjelica Huston...all very gifted actresses who have been betrayed by Hollywood's ageism. They're the ones with reason to complain.
Best Actress 1990 was a mildly traumatizing experience. How anyone could watch The Grifters and not want Anjelica Huston to win every Best Actress prize imaginable is beyond me.
Huston's handicap was being apart of an ensemble. All of her competitors were outright leads--leading the pictures they were in. Julia Roberts is Pretty Woman, Kathy Bates brings the Misery, Joanne Woodward is Mrs. Bridge, and Meryl Streep survived being on The Edge. Add on the assumption is Anjelica has arrived in the Best Actress competition--Kathy Bates is a one shot deal. Since all the winning performances except for Jeremy Irons is over the top theatrical and quotable--it makes sense that an underdog like Bates won. They Academy made sure to leave her out for an afterglow nomination for Fried Green Tomatoes--Bette and Laura!--Please.
Thrilled that Adaptation is going to rank so high. She needs another Adaptation AND SOON.
I agree with some of the others here; I'm totally shocked and overjoyed that Adaptation managed to make the top five! I'm glad we can all somewhat agree that that's among her best, if not THE best. My personal favorite.
Huston's handicap was being apart of an ensemble. All of her competitors were outright leads--leading the pictures they were in. Julia Roberts is Pretty Woman, Kathy Bates brings the Misery, Joanne Woodward is Mrs. Bridge, and Meryl Streep survived being on The Edge. Add on the assumption is Anjelica has arrived in the Best Actress competition--Kathy Bates is a one shot deal. Since all the winning performances except for Jeremy Irons is over the top theatrical and quotable--it makes sense that an underdog like Bates won. They Academy made sure to leave her out for an afterglow nomination for Fried Green Tomatoes--Bette and Laura!--Please.
Silkwood #1, has to be right? If Sophie's Choice is #1, I'll throw up.
Yesterday's predictions almost perfect:
10) Out of Africa
9) Julie & Julia
8) Postcards from the Edge
7) A Cry in the Dark
6) Adaptation
So I'm sticking with the rest:
5) Kramer vs Kramer (now becomes Adaptation)
4) The Devil Wears Prada
3) The Bridges of Madison County
2) Silkwood
1) Sophie's Choice
Just today I (re)watched Julie & Julia, which remains as delightful as ever. (Seeing it again after The Iron Lady put the technically-proficient mimicry of Streep's Margaret Thatcher on par with her Julia Child, only with considerably converse enjoyment levels.)
Oh, Cher in '85! Her performance in Mask should've been Oscar-nominated for that "Now you can go anywhere, baby" line alone.
Postcards from the Edge is definitely in my all-time top 3 of Streep's performances. Has any performance of hers felt more "lived in" than this one? (Plus, amazing pas-de-deux with EVERY ONE of her screen partners, scene to scene.)
Oh, and I have to say that, while Susan Sarandon was aces in Bull Durham, Melanie Griffith certainly deserved that Oscar nomination for Working Girl. You may not like her now -- hell, I don't like her now! -- but my God did she take that role and run with it. (Tess McGill still holds up today, even if the dated premise doesn't.)
P.S. Kind of surprised that her performance in The Bridges of Madison County made/will make top tier. While it's one of *my* favorites, I didn't think many others felt likewise. Streep no doubt was assisted with a script by Richard LaGravenese that only could improve on its dismal source material; nevertheless, she deserves enormous kudos for further elevating and creating such an indelible, layered Francesca whose infidelity is as poignant and bittersweet as her family life, with all of its sacrifices and disappointments. Brava!
I can't wait to see how the top 5 rank.
5) Adaptation
4) The Bridges of Madison County
3) The Devil Wears Prada
2) Silkwood
1) Sophie's Choice
Totally with you Nathaniel re Meryl in Postcards - one of her more endearing lived-in performances.
I also remember admiring her performance in Out of Africa years and years ago (much more so than the film, which i didn't admire in the slightest).
I am yet to see her take on Lindy Chamberlain but I've seen a few clips where she [uncharacteristically] massacres the Australian accent, so I'm a little bit afraid of the film. Also weirdly drawn in the way I'm drawn to culty kitschy self-parodic prestige things like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.
I wonder - is Cry in the Dark Streep's Baby Jane? If not, then what is? Or is her Baby Jane coming up next decade?
meryl has gave lots of astonishing performanes as much as i think her performances in kramer vs kramer, sophie's choice,silkwood,a cry in dark, bridegs of madison county,adaptaion and now the iron lady all deserves oscars also a film that is in 10 or 11 or even 15 or more place in this rankings are are nomination worthy this proves me she is best actress ever
@Jay: Here is the link: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2003-01-29-streep_x.htm
here's another: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2710163.stm
"The Eighties were a different time with box office and moviegoing; people still flocked to prestige dramas in big numbers." -- So true. What went wrong?
I don't recall at all that "Give her Oscar 3" insistence back in 1988. I think it all starts later with the Internet.
We could talk about 88 forever. It is still one of the strongest seasons ever in terms of actresses. I love Sarandon in general and specially in "Bull Durham," but I think Griffith deserved that spot for "Working Girl". Anyway, it's an impossible year. How do you manage those five slots in a year with Close, Curtis, (Judy) Davis, Foster, Lahti, MacLaine, Maura, Rowlands, Streep and Weaver?
Recently watched the 2009 nom. movies for best actress again - must say quiet a weak year for best actresses - if you compare to some of Meryl's nominations in the 80's..
BUT: Meryl's performance is by far the most enjoyable, buttery and bold one that year in "Julia" ! I can understand that a lot of people think it was a bit over the top, but watching Julia Child on youtube... common...she is like an elephant in china store... (if you can say that in English.. ? - not my first language) ;)
I seldom loved a comedy performance as much as this one in the past years - same feeling with Kirstin Wiig & Sally Hawkins - lovely strange choices, but you follow her throughout the movie with a smirk on your face, without a leash and I always thought "What the hell is she doing ???...
The Academy really missed out a chance that year to celebrate great comedian work (AGAIN)
*Sandra was and is heartwarming but really really not worth a nomination for me.. / and a win (???!!!) the whole film is quiet flat.. - still not over that one!
*Love Mirren but didn't like her work in "Last Station".
*Sidibe was ..brilliant in a way.. but I couldn't put my finger on her real acting skills, as after the second viewing you think she has only one facial expression.
*Discovery Carey Mulligan wonderful performance with an Audrey Hepburn glow
6th should have been Abbie Cornish for "Bright Star" - the "letter scene" is alone worth a nomination - I had to see it 3 times to get over it.
But still think Meryl should have won 2009!
I am a fool for not having voted :(
just checked my Streep records, I've seen almost everything she's done
all the Oscar nominated performances included
My top 5 would be (in no particular order):
Sophie's Choice, A Cry In The Dark, Silkwood, Postcards From The Edge, The Devil Wears Prada.
So how many Oscars should Streep have by now? I count 4-5, at least.
While I do think that Sarandon was in sixth place in 1988, that year was SO, so crowded-the five ladies plus Sarandon still leaves out Shirley MacLaine in her Globe-winning role in Madame Sousatzka, as well as Christine Lahti in Running on Empty.
And was there just a lot more crossover awards-bait hits for TV stars in the 1970's? Carol Burnett, Valerie Harper-Melissa McCarthy is the only "TV star" I can think of in a while who got traction in awards season. Considering how EGOT-obsessed the press has been in the last few years, they would go bananas with these sorts of names in the fray.
And as for 1979, my hunch would be 2-5 looked something like: Bergen, Hemingway, Barrie, Alexander.
Hi Jay! Loved your comments. I hope mine help:
1. I distinctly remember what Ric refers to, about her performance in "The Hours". But the award was the SAG. Here's an article about that:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2003/jan/30/awardsandprizes.news
2. You are right about Norma Aleandro also vying for a nomination in 1985. She and Cher tied for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival. Additionally, Aleandro was chosen by the New York Film Critics. The year 1985 was considered to be one of the most difficult years in the Best Actress category in Oscar history. An article about this appeared in People maganize. If I remember well, the article also mentioned Sissy Spacek in "Marie," Glenn Close in "Jagged Edge," Kate Nellingan in "Eleni," Sally Field in "Murphy's Romance" and both Ellen Burstyn and Ann-Margret in "Twice in a Lifetime." The final list that the author predicted was Streep, Page, Goldberg, Lange and, "hopeful that I am, Norma Aleandro." He was aware that she'd be threatened by Bancroft, though.
[I may have kept the article. If I find it, I'll scan it and send it to Nathaniel]
The top 5 i think :
1. The Bridges of madison County
2. Adaptation
3. Silkwood
4. Sophie's choice
5. The Devil wears Prada
A Cry in the Dark is Meryl´s best performance!!!!!!!
John -- well there was Felicity Huffman recently. And Helen Hunt in the 90s. I assume it'll start happening more since film and tv aren't as separate as they once were with alot of people doing both.
Huston's handicap was being apart of an ensemble. All of her competitors were outright leads--leading the pictures they were in. Julia Roberts is Pretty Woman, Kathy Bates brings the Misery, Joanne Woodward is Mrs. Bridge, and Meryl Streep survived being on The Edge. Add on the assumption is Anjelica has arrived in the Best Actress competition--Kathy Bates is a one shot deal. Since all the winning performances except for Jeremy Irons is over the top theatrical and quotable--it makes sense that an underdog like Bates won. They Academy made sure to leave her out for an afterglow nomination for Fried Green Tomatoes--Bette and Laura!--Please.
I was doing who I think they voted for. I think Huston deserved the Oscar that year (AMAZING) but the character is so severe and so cold I can't imagine that AMPAS was falling in line for it the way critics and the media were.
Huston's handicap was being apart of an ensemble. All of her competitors were outright leads--leading the pictures they were in. Julia Roberts is Pretty Woman, Kathy Bates brings the Misery, Joanne Woodward is Mrs. Bridge, and Meryl Streep survived being on The Edge. Add on the assumption is Anjelica has arrived in the Best Actress competition--Kathy Bates is a one shot deal. Since all the winning performances except for Jeremy Irons is over the top theatrical and quotable--it makes sense that an underdog like Bates won. They Academy made sure to leave her out for an afterglow nomination for Fried Green Tomatoes--Bette and Laura!--Please.
3RT-the funny thing about that of course being that Huston and Woodward would never go on to be nominated again, and Bates would receive more Oscar nominations after this than Julia Roberts, something at the time likely would have been thought impossible.
My comment does not show.
Hi Nat. I posted a comment like an hour ago. I am not getting email alerts with the follow-up posts but my comment does not show. Just letting you know. :)
Thanks for including my response to your request re: Out of Africa.
Something else to consider John T is that Kathy Bates is the only woman to be nominated alongside Meryl Streep in both lead and supporting categories.
I'm wrong John T this bit of trivia should make Nathan very happy Julianne Moore also was nominated alongside Streep in lead and supporting actress. That "End of Affair" nomination is so forgettable.
Of the remaining five, I'm hoping it's Silkwood. I love Prada, but so much of the love for that performance is its drag appeal. And is it terrible to say that Sophie's Choice is a real snore? I suspect that most people who voted for it know only its key scene via YouTube. A Cry in the Dark is a much more fascinating performance (and film) than SC.
//3|RT: Um...a three-lead movie isn't the same as a true ensemble. You don't remember that The Grifters has a frame where Cusack, Bening and Huston are in a three way split screen looking straight at the viewer? The movie is aggressively telling you at that moment: WE HAVE THREE LEADS. DEAL WITH IT.
Top Ten:
10. Kramer v. Kramer
9. Julie & Julia
8. Adaptation
7. Bridges of Madison County
6. The Devil Wears Prada
5. The Iron Lady
4. Silkwood
3. One True Thing
2. A Cry in the Dark
1. Sophie's Choice
Her latest performance in The Iron Lady is superlative. Her performance in One True Thing is truly underated; Never before or since has Meryl touched the human heart so beautifully as she does in One True Thing. She should have won for A Cry in the Dark in 1988, while her performance in Sophie's Choice remains unparralled.
zig -- I hope you're wrong as i expressly asked people to only vote on films that they had seen. If people are cheating that makes me sad.
I can't believe some of the comments from some who have admittedly not seen all of these performances...
"...I've seen a few clips where she [uncharacteristically] massacres the Australian accent..."
"...Sophie's Choice is a real snore? I suspect that most people who voted for it know only its key scene via YouTube..."
YOU MUST BE OUT OF YOUR MINDS.
1) Goran, apparently, the NY Film Critics don't agree regarding the Australian accent. Maybe you should see the film before making such a sweeping generalization.
2) Zig, do you really believe that ANYONE commenting on this thread should/would/could
have voted on Streep's best performances based on You Tube bits? And what exactly is the "key scene" you refer to here?
Volvagia: The movie can be read two ways. It's either Roy's story or Lily's story. You spend more time with Roy than any other character in the film. The screenwriter had to write the diner scene into the picture because Lily would've been completely gone for the middle section without it.
I agree with Steve Rodman. I don't agree with the ordering of his Top 10 but I like that his listings are unconventional. It really is difficult to rank these performances. I do agree with his placement of The Iron Lady in the Top 5. Based on performance, Streep's Thatcher was towering, even for her.
Right now this list seems right to me and I would place iron lady between doubt and julie and julia......
Patryk - You're right. The NY critics are muchmore reliable judges than an Australian resident on the authenticity of an Australian accent.
I wasn't commenting on the performance but purely on the accent. It's very easy to judge how consistent or authentic an accent is even from a 2 minute clip. And i am hardly the first Australian to pick up on the fact that hers in this film simply wasn't.
But I love how its so easy to twist a streep fan's panties in a clinch knot just by questioning the consistency of an accent meryl adopted in a little seen australian biopic from 1988. Nathaniel this poll was a fabulous idea.
Goran, I neglected to mention that she was also awarded Best Actress by The Australian Film Institute. I guess they had "their panties in a clinch" also.
By your own admission, you haven't even seen the film.
Goran--just because you are australian doesn't make you an expert on every australian dialect. I live in the United States, but that doesn't make me an expert on the mid-western accent. I have never heard any substantive criticism of Meryl's australian accent in A Cry In The Dark. Patryk has it right; she was awarded the Austrailian Film Institutes best actress award. I don't think she would have won that award if she 'massacred' the accent. Truly Goran, watch the entire film first. Nobody is getting their 'panties in a clinch', rather we are just trying to put some perspective on one of her greatest performances. Just saying.