Review of Sophie's Choice (1982) by Stefan N — 25 Jun 2013

"Sophie's Choice" is one of the greatest character driven dramas. While the plot is good, it takes backseat to the wonderfully fresh, and developed characters made come to life by fine performances.

The story takes place in 1947 and revolves around an author named Stingo who moves to a boarding house in Brooklyn, New York where he strikes a strong friendship with a Polish refugee, Sophie, and her boyfriend, Nathan, a research chemist.

When dark secrets begin to unfold about Sophie's life in the concentration camp, and the reason for Nathan's violent mood swings, Stingo finds himself struggling to preserve a friendship with people who he does not have one thing in common with.

The film is a showcase for Meryl Streep's subtle yet strong performance that gets everything right from Eastern European mannerisms and the accent to the raw emotion of a regretful mother. Peter McNicol and Kevin Kline boast great performances especially the latter although they are overshadowed by Streep.

The film's pacing may prove to be too slow for viewers who expect a major event to occur, but through director Alan J. Pakula's strong direction we get an above average movie. It is sort of like a 'hangout' movie in a sense, a term used by Tarantino to describe movies that we see to experience befriending the characters.

The theme by Marvin Hamlisch is one of the most beautiful themes that describes the entire movie and has an interesting 80's vibe.I particularly loved the art direction of the pink house.Additionally, this movie would have at worst been a 3/5 stars since the novel which it adapts has so many extraordinary characters and so much power.

"Sophie's Choice" is a riveting experience with some of the greatest characters known to film, stop-on direction, a beautiful theme, power-house performances which is an ultimately flattering homage to the source novel.