Sophie's Choice

Another film from my foray into the AFI's Top 100 Films, Sophie's Choice came highly recommended to me by my mother. The film also won Meryl Streep her second Oscar for Best Actress. So going inn I had some pretty high expectations. The best thing about the picture far and away is the acting by Streep and Kevin Kline. The two have remarkable chemistry together. Its on the strength of their performances that the film gets its emotional power. Streep plays a polish immigrant who migrates to America after escaping Nazi persecution at a concentration camp. In several flashback sequences she speaks unbelievable amounts of dialogue in German. Her accent is perfect and rarely do I get to watch a recognizable actor sink so convincingly into a role that I forget its them. This is her accomplishment. Her praise has been sung by many, consider myself on the bandwagon. Kline is also superb as a man suffering from terrible mood swings that leave him charming one moment and psychotic the next. The weakest link was the films narrator played by Peter MacNicol. He just seemed out of place or over matched between these two live wires.
The film was directed by Alan J. Pakula who also adapted the screenplay. His two previous hits being Klute with Jane Fonda and All The President's Men. In Sophie's Choice he lets some scenes of conversation go on to long leaving me to feel a bit restless. At times too you cant help but feel that the whole thing is all a bit melodramatic, leaving me to care less and less about the characters. Even still its well worth watching just for the two lead performances alone. If your a fan of great acting, this one should be required viewing.

B-

1983