What should have been Meryl's third?
Sunday, March 15, 2020 at 12:30PM ;)
Daniel Day-Lewis may be the best triple Oscar winner among actors, but that doesn't mean he's the best performer of the bunch. It just means that he's had the luck of getting awards for his very best efforts. Historically, if we can count on the Academy for something it is to award the right people for the wrong movies. That started early -- Katharine Hepburn won her first Oscar for Morning Glory in the same year she was eligible for George Cukor's Little Women?
In any case, neither Hepburn or Day-Lewis are the subjects of this piece. That would be Meryl Streep, the most nominated actor ever and proud winner of three Oscars. Her first two victories, for Kramer vs Kramer and Sophie's Choice, are usually considered among the best in their respective categories, but the same can't be said for her third triumph...
Meryl Streep being a three-time Academy Award winner isn't unjustifiable considering her career, but did one of her wins have to be for The Iron Lady?
In that much-awarded biopic, Meryl Streep plays former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, from her days as a member of Parliament to her doddering old age. Technically speaking, this is a showy effort full of performative razzle-dazzle, including accent work and many portentous monologues delivered with gusto. However, Streep tends to be a bit too much when playing Thatcher in her prime and director Phyllida Lloyd seems unable to help her.
During the scenes set in the present day, the performance gets better, suddenly full of melancholy and subtle character details woven through the physical transformation. However, that's a small portion of the overall picture, making Streep`s victory a tad sour. It's especially troubling when we consider that the likely runner-up was Viola Davis who delivered one hell of a performance in The Help and would have been a historical victor.
All this reminiscence regarding the Oscar history makes us wonder if there were any good opportunities for Streep to have won her third trophy. With 21 nominations to her name, there's a lot to choose from, though we've narrowed it down to three stupendous performances.
SILKWOOD (1983)
Winner: Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment
Mike Nichols' Silkwood marked the first of many times when Meryl Streep played a real person. Such performances would become synonymous with some of the actress' worst habits, including a tendency to be too studied and fussy about her actorly choices. None of that is true of her work in Silkwood, however. It's one of the actress' most relaxed tours de force, perfectly naturalistic and lived-in, equally capable of eliciting laughs and nail-biting tension.
While it's unlikely that the Academy would honor Streep two years in a row, this would have been a wonderful victory. Moreover, Shirley MacLaine would have many other opportunities to nab Oscar gold. She's one of those cases where the Academy stopped nominating her after she won, but we can easily imagine her winning for such movies as 1988's Madame Sousatzka, 1989's Steel Magnolias or 1990's Postcards from the Edge.
THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY (1995)
Winner: Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking
Now available on HBO Now, The Bridges of Madison County is a small miracle of sincere melodrama from a cinematic tradition rarely seen since the heyday of the studio era. Not that Streep`s performance recalls the artifice of those days. This a full-bodied wonder of romantic realism, breathing life into the often-played cliché of a bored housewife finding a sudden jolt of all-consuming joy in the form of an extra-marital affair. Such is her power that, even though I've watched the movie countless times, I still believe that maybe this time things will be different, maybe this time she'll open that car door.
1995 was Susan Sarandon's time to win, there's no doubt about that. However, Meryl Streep's performance is a top-tier effort, representing what's probably the best representation of forbidden romance this side of Brief Encounter.
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (2006)
Winner: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Miranda Priestly could have been a great movie villain, but Meryl Streep made her so much more than that. She turned a boss from hell into a tridimensional character, actively working against misogynistic readings of the film's narrative and delivering a slew of iconic catchphrases along the way. She deserved the Oscar with the Cerulean monologue, but every moment after that is equally perfect. That's all.
Considering all of her subsequent SAG and Golden Globe nominations, Helen Mirren would have no trouble building a narrative to win her first Oscar after 2006. However, does that mean we'd have to live in a world where Trumbo is an Oscar-winning film? One shudders at the thought.
Reader Comments (78)
Adaptation would have been a great third win.
I would have loved a third win for Postcards from the Edge. From her performances that weren’t nominated, a victory for The Hours would’ve been richly deserved!
Death becomes her would have been a great third win, Adaptation her fourth and Prada her fifth.
But I'm good with TIL. I don't think an Oscar Clip was ever more fitting. *lol*
My vote goes to Adaptation or Prada or even Julie & Julia (over Sandra Bullock). In an ideal world, her Oscars would reflect her comedic excellence as well as her talents for accents and drama.
"The Bridges of Madison County" would have been my pick, but I'm delighted Susan Sarandon finally won though. I still think her Clarissa in "The Hours" is one of her best performances and she was the most Oscar-worthy of the cast (Nicole should have won for Moulin Rouge!). Meryl doesn't get to play "regular" women very often and she gave it her all making her so human and real (that kiss scene with Alison Janney was so powerful).
since SILKWOOD and DEVIL WEARS PRADA are two of my top three all time fav streep performances (the other one being POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE) i approve of these choices.
Julie & Julia. Given the competition that year, I think she totally deserved to win.
I can't argue with Mirren winning in 2006, and I would have placed other performances above hers in 1995 (including the un-nominated Kidman for To Die For).
If she have been won for a comedy I prefer would it be for Postcards from the Edge instead of Prada. Maybe is just my appreciation but I feel she plays Miranda so "seriously" and out of the tune on comedy. I think Emily Blunt is who plays the role with the best tone for the story.
I'm very surprised to know that Shirley MacLaine wasn't even nominated for Postcards from the Edge. She and Streep are a perfect duo.
The Devil Wears Prada in SUPPORTING (Penelope Cruz and Judi Dench were more deserving in the Lead category that she was nominated with).
OR
Julie & Julia in Lead (where she could have prevented Sandra Bullock from winning that year. But then Sandra would probably have won over Cate with Gravity so that’s not the alternative universe I’d like to be in either).
@César Gaytán
MacLaine was wonderful in Postcards from the Edge. I think the story back then was that she (or the producers) campaigned for Leading Actress and not Supporting where she would be a certain thing. I'm not 100% sure though. Can anybody confirm or deny this?
Manos -- There was some category confusion about MacLaine in Postcards from the Edge. To me, she seems clearly supporting, but BAFTA nominated her in the leading category. The Globes wisely put her in supporting.
Wanted her to win for "Postcards from the Edge", but realistically she had her best chance with Prada in supporting (only 28 mins of screentime, 27% of the film). That would've been an easy and justified win.
Adaptation
She should have won supporting for "The Devil Wears Prada"
Wow this is going to be one of the most discussed posts here!
Silkwood , madison county and postcards are my favorites but maclaine , shue and huston were just there with even better performances so I go with prada which is also a great performance
It’s so bad that she won for the iron lady one of her worst nominations!
Silkwood.
I didn't really think she deserved one for Julie & Julia, but given that Sidibe and Mulligan didn't have a chance, I was really pulling for her that year to prevent a situation like Iron-gate from happening.
ADAPTATION or THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA or even JULIE & JULIA would've been great choices and the perfect third Oscar. She is a genius comedic actress (in addition to being a genius dramatic one) so it would've been amazing to see her win a third Oscar for a comedic turn.
The Devil Wears Prada, Adaptation or The Bridges of Madison County.
My favorite Streep performances are:
1. Sophie's Choice (though I saw it at the time it was released and never again. I could not bear the anguish)
2. The Bridges of Madison County
3. Out of Africa
4. The Devil Wears Prada
5. Doubt
6. Falling in Love
She is an absolute favorite with the Academy (on average she's been nominated practically every other year). So I think they will continue to nominate her and, if se delivers one of her marvelous performances and there's not a shoo-in favorite, she will win her fourth Oscar.
Silkwood is still her best performance but I wouldn’t have given her the award over MacLaine or Winger that year.
Ripple effect- If she wins for Devil Wears Prada, then Helen Mirren probably wins for the Last Station (weak year, no competition that the guilds were pushing) which causes Sandra Bullock to maybe pull out a win over Cate Blanchett later on, or at least give her real competition.
Bridges should have been up various Oscars but Meryl is simply the finest she has ever been.
She crushes my heart everytime in Bridges.
A 3rd for The Post wouldn't have been terrible considering the winner.
The odd thing about this win is that it came at a time when there was a fever pitch of support for Meryl having a third. After she proved to be a box office champion with “Devil,” basically every nomination until Iron Lady was seen as the one that would do the trick because Meryl needed a third and because Mille oaks had yet to see her win (so to them, she hadn’t and they were drivers of the cultural conversation in those years).
Taking a look at her nominations, but also considering her popularity at the time - a big factor that pushed her to a third - I would say if she hadn’t won for Iron then the Post or Florence would have been deserving wins.
A Cry in the Dark, Silkwood, and Bridges were all too soon for a third. And, even though I love her in adaptation, no one wants her to have her third (or fourth) not be in the leading category.
The Bridges of Madison County. Her best performance and the best movie she's ever starred in (sorry The Deer Hunter).
I like your choices of performances, but also think Postcards From the Edge, Adaptation, and Julie and Julia would have been great wins.
My first choice would be "The Devil Wears Prada" - it would have been a very popular win, and although Helen Mirren is very good in "The Queen", she's not that exceptional. (IMHO)
My 2nd choice is for "Julie and Julia". Sandra Bullocks win for "Blindside" was way worse than Streep winning for "The Iron Lady". And pulling off Julia Child was every bit as hard as "Lincoln".
I think most underestimate the sheer amount of talent on display for her performance in The Iron Lady. The film sucks- yes- horrible.
But let’s not kids ourselves that she won for that. The narrative for her third win was for all the other amazing performance that just nearly missed before.
Her 4th will be this decade.
Silkwood and Madison County are both fantastic performances, but I'm happy about Shirley MacLaine's and Susan Sarandon's wins... and as much as I love Meryl in Prada, that year's best performance was the one Helen Mirren gave in The Queen. I would have loved to see Meryl getting her third Oscar for Doubt (one of her best works of the last 20 years), with Kate Winslet winning her statuette a few years later for her amazing work in Steve Jobs.
A Cry in the Dark was a masterful performance.
I would say THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA or JULIE & JULIA would make for terrific wins for her. Still, one of my favorite performances from her is Violet in AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, but it would be in supporting and never leading... Can you image both Blanchett and Streep winning Oscars in the same year?... But then Nyong'o wouldn't be a winner... Though choices... I will go for JULIE & JULIA considering I would easily steal Bullock's Oscar for her
Unpopular Opinion: : yes the iron lady is supremely flawed, but Meryl Streep is really aces in the movie. I’m glad she won over Viola Davis ( show should've won lead for Fences), for the Help which has not aged well and is by all means a white savior movie, I feel that wouldve stalled Davis’ career.
So many performances would be worthy of wins, but if Glenn couldn’t win for Liaisons, Meryl all the way for A Cry in the Dark.
Can we make a poll?
Hmm... In chronological order, acknowledging competition.
1985: She gives my favourite performance in the category, but I'd vote for Geraldine Paige for sentimental reasons.
1987: I'd vote for her and she gives my favourite performance
1988: I'd vote for Foster, but this is a stacked category and I'm fine with it going to a first time winner.
1995: Sorry, remember how happy Streep was when Sarandon won? Not taking that away from her
Here's the thing, if she's a three time winner before The Iron Lady, I'd still vote for her in that category. It's a really disappointing quintet.
@Rizz. YES.
None.
None.
None.
None.
In a perfect world:
1st Sophie´s Choice
2nd Silkwood
3rd The Bridges of Madison County
in 1995 my fav was Sharon Stone in Casino. She was electric!
The Iron Lady was very snl
This makes me realize how similar Streep and Hepburn may seem in hindsight. Not in acting styles, of course, but in being nominated a lot, having very long successful careers, and with great films and not so great films on their resume.
I would vote for The Devil Wears Prada, since it's a modern classic. But it would also have been deserved for Silkwood, A Cry in the Dark (won at Cannes), The Bridges of Madison County, or Postcards from the Edge. However, we don't want to steal any Oscars from other actresses, so we have to accept reality (even though it's fun to fantasize).
Silkwood is remarkable and it's too bad that she had already won twice before the Academy knew what was coming down the pike. I have a fondness for her Prada and I'm usually not too kind on expressly commercial projects. I'd urge people to see A Cry in the Dark, which strikes me as a bit underseen.
1. Adaptation. Still remember how shocked i was to hear her utter "you fat f*ck!".
2. Doubt: She so immensely inhabits the role of the mean, old-fashioned nun.
3. Devil Wears Prada (i don't care if Lead or Supporting): She was simply the center of that movie and i agree with the writer who said she should have won for the Cerulean speech.
Beyond that, any of her performances. I'm surprised no one said Ironweed. I've never seen it but she got a lot of kudos for the reality she brought to being a drunkard.
Honestly, I think she could've had more Oscars for: Death Becomes Her, Adaptation, and The Devil Wears Prada. Honestly, that third Oscar should've gone to The Devil Wears Prada mainly for the fact that it was the film that made her a box office draw. A fourth maybe for Mamma Mia! or Doubt and another for Julie & Julia.
I'm still waiting for her to be in a big-time action movie franchise as I really think she should be part of Fast & Furious franchise as Paul Walker's mom who joins the ladies on a mission while having some issues with Helen Mirren who are reluctant to work with each other. I smell a shitload of money for that film.
I also vote for A CRY IN THE DARK(/EVIL ANGELS in Australia). She deservedly won the Cannes acting prize for it, and I honestly think it is a contender for her greatest performance (but I am not prepared to (re-)watch every Streep performance in comparison to lock it in).
And this is not Australian bias either.
Adaptation, hands down. The dialtone scene is brilliant.
I loved her in "The Iron Lady" - well-deserved win!
My vote is for The Hours, probably her most lived-in performance outside of Silkwood and Adaptation. I found she breathed more life into her character than the more studied performances of Julianne and Nicole.
Doubt and Julie & Julia would be preferable victories. The Iron Lady literally was 29 years since Sophie's Choice. To be fair to voters Davis' movie neglects her and it's bloated running time is a chore to sit through. Whereas Streep's movie is two minutes shorter than a Gremlins flick. And completely in service to her even if you prefer less queer adjacent work.
Watching many comments I realize most people makes their choices considering how the winner will affect the other contenders in the category. I could bet academy members find themselves in the same situation what makes me wonder: How is exactly their voting system?
I think the voting system that are used in the smackdowns qualifying individually the performances with hearts is very effective.
Also years ago in a magazine they ranked the 100 "best" mexican films and the way they did it was this: 20 film critics sended their own Top 15 to the magazine, the #1 of any list received 15 points, #2 received 14 and like that consecutively. They ordered the films from most to less points received by picture. In case of tie they ordered the films based in the times that the film was mentioned in the lists.
I think that both examples ranking the nominees would it be a most effective way to choose a more "objective" winner