Review of Sophie's Choice (1982) by Clyde91 — 16 Oct 2019

Sophie's Choice by Alan Pakula is an excellent movie, propelled to greatness by a staggering performance by Meryl Streep. Although it's false to believe that Sophie's Choice is all Streep, she is without a doubt the most critical component, and her performance came in service of a powerful screenplay under the direction of an accomplished director.

Without Streep, Sophie's Choice would have been a very good motion picture. With her, it attains greatness. By providing one of the all-time great female performances, Meryl Streep earned her Best Actress Oscar.

Streep's portrayal - forceful, emotional, and utterly compelling – is among the best of a very prestigious career. There's no getting around the simple fact that Sophie's Choice is a downer, but so are many of the most powerful motion pictures.

Perhaps that's because nothing tears at the soul as deeply as guilt, and few things are more devastating than guilt without the possibility of redemption or forgiveness.(Great film buoyed by a great performance).