New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

3. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Showing that she had not lost the comedic, campy touch she displayed so well in Death Becomes Her, She Devil, and Postcards from the Edge, Streep gave one of the best performances of her career as the devilish Miranda Priestley in the film adaption of the beloved book.

Whatever critics may have said of her comic turns in the 1980s and 90s, Streep silenced them forever with her timeless performance in this movie. Not only was her comedic timing exact, her deadpan brilliant, and her disinterested affectation hysterical, she also displayed a broader range of emotions as the story and character developed. She gave a true tri-dimensionality to a comedic villain, an almost impossible task for most actors. Not only are most characters in these movies simple caricatures, they tend to be flat, uninteresting, and predictable and boring as comedies head into their third act. But Streep humanized the hilariously monstrous Miranda until you felt bad for her - she was a real human with touching problems - and then went all the way back to disliking her again, while this time respecting her. Streep thus showed once again that she is a masterful actress, and that no role is too challenging for her.

In 2006, Streep lost Best Actress yet again, this time to Helen Mirren’s portrayal of The Queen. Yet again, it is hard to begrudge this one, Mirren was not particularly overdue, but her performance as Queen Elizabeth is stunning. I would have a very hard time picking between the two, given how strong I consider both.

2. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

By the time of only her second nomination, and within her first few credited film roles, Streep obtained Oscar success (for Supporting Actress) for her moving portrayal of Joanna Kramer in the 1979 divorce drama and Best Picture winner (Kramer vs. Kramer).

The focus of the story is on Dustin Hoffman’s relationship with his young son after Joanna walks out on him, and on the other difficulties he faces because of the divorce. So, to be fair, I hesitated before making this the number two entry, given that Streep’s screen time is very limited. But I opted for it because when she does appear, Streep undoubtedly steals the show from the by-then veteran Hoffman (who also won an Oscar for his portrayal). Streep’s task in the film was not easy - the whole point of the movie is that old assumptions about the proper role of men and women in custody battles, and their relative moral superiority in divorces, were to be challenged. At first, Joanna is the bad guy, she’s the mother who walks out. But by the end of the film you’re supposed to feel sympathy for both her and her husband’s point of view about the difficulties of their relationship. Few actresses could have achieved this as easily as Streep did - by portraying both the emotional tear that she felt at leaving her family, but the harrowing difficulties she faced in staying with hit.

Continued:       1       2       3       4