Sophie's Choice (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
'Sophie's Choice' (directed by Alan Pakula) does NOT tell a happy story, but it is one of the more engrossing & absorbing ones you can see. It's 1947 & aspiring author Stingo (Peter MacNicol) has arrived in Brooklyn, NY to start a writing career. He rents a ground-floor flat; where the upstairs neighbors are an ostentatious couple: Sophie Zawistowski (Meryl Streep) & Nathan Landau (Kevin Kline). Sophie is a Catholic Polish concentration camp survivor. Nathan is a Jew who 'saved' Sophie after her liberation from Auschwitz & is now obsessed with the Holocaust. Sophie is haunted by ghosts; Nathan is plagued by personal demons.
SPOILER: Sophie's father had been one of the biggest anti-Jewish voices in Poland's academia & her tragic interaction with the Nazis forced her to choose which of her 2 children (a boy & a girl) would be surrendered to a crematorium in exchange for the other's life. Every day she lives, she faces the grueling decision she made; coupled with an uncertainty about her other child's fate. She's been haunted by her self-loathing soul ever since. END SPOILER. Meanwhile, Nathan wrestles with alcohol & a bipolar disorder that creates a sometimes violent personality. Poor Stingo ends up trapped btwn. them; liking Nathan & loving Sophie, yet increasingly aware that the track this couple is on can only lead to disaster.
'SC' doesn't give us the title character's horrific story all at once. Initially, we see her as a courageous survivor who loves & is indebted to Nathan, even though he doesn't appear to deserve it. But flashbacks during the film rewind the story to Sophie's internment at Auschwitz. By setting the main narrative several yrs. after the conclusion of WWII, the film gives us an opportunity to examine how Sophie's experiences while imprisoned by the Germans have affected her recent life.
There's no getting around the fact that 'SC' is a downer, but so are most powerful movies. Perhaps that's because nothing damages the soul as deeply as guilt, & few things are more devastating than guilt without forgiveness or redemption. That's Sophie's sad situation. She goes on because Nathan saved her hand when she was figuratively drowning. But she can never forget her 'choice'.
Streep's portrayal is entirely compelling. Sensitivity, vulnerability, resilience, depth & breadth are required of the character, and Streep hits it all. So much pain is evident in the scene that earns the movie its title that it is almost impossible to watch; so gut-wrenching is Streep's interpretation. I was transfixed by Streep's portrayal of this complex woman. I found myself just staring at Streep; what she was saying, the cadence with which she spoke, her pitch-perfect accent, her body movements. I hung on to everything. For me, it's one of the great female performances ever caught on film.
Though not in the same league, newcomer Kevin Kline is stellar as Nathan; a tragic figure in his own right. He loves Sophie, but is too frequently drunk; & his drunkenness often leads to paranoia & bursts of violence. Sophie, like most women with a poor self-image, forgives him. But then alcohol isn't Nathan's only issue; he is also mentally unstable. Nathan & Sophie have lived together for a while, but neither truly knows the other. Peter MacNicol is tasked with being the straight man in this stormy threesome. Stingo is the observer; and the performance reflects that. So while he's a quieter character, thanks to MacNicol, we still care about him even though the source of drama is not about him. Excellent performances. Excellent film.
SPOILER: Sophie's father had been one of the biggest anti-Jewish voices in Poland's academia & her tragic interaction with the Nazis forced her to choose which of her 2 children (a boy & a girl) would be surrendered to a crematorium in exchange for the other's life. Every day she lives, she faces the grueling decision she made; coupled with an uncertainty about her other child's fate. She's been haunted by her self-loathing soul ever since. END SPOILER. Meanwhile, Nathan wrestles with alcohol & a bipolar disorder that creates a sometimes violent personality. Poor Stingo ends up trapped btwn. them; liking Nathan & loving Sophie, yet increasingly aware that the track this couple is on can only lead to disaster.
'SC' doesn't give us the title character's horrific story all at once. Initially, we see her as a courageous survivor who loves & is indebted to Nathan, even though he doesn't appear to deserve it. But flashbacks during the film rewind the story to Sophie's internment at Auschwitz. By setting the main narrative several yrs. after the conclusion of WWII, the film gives us an opportunity to examine how Sophie's experiences while imprisoned by the Germans have affected her recent life.
There's no getting around the fact that 'SC' is a downer, but so are most powerful movies. Perhaps that's because nothing damages the soul as deeply as guilt, & few things are more devastating than guilt without forgiveness or redemption. That's Sophie's sad situation. She goes on because Nathan saved her hand when she was figuratively drowning. But she can never forget her 'choice'.
Streep's portrayal is entirely compelling. Sensitivity, vulnerability, resilience, depth & breadth are required of the character, and Streep hits it all. So much pain is evident in the scene that earns the movie its title that it is almost impossible to watch; so gut-wrenching is Streep's interpretation. I was transfixed by Streep's portrayal of this complex woman. I found myself just staring at Streep; what she was saying, the cadence with which she spoke, her pitch-perfect accent, her body movements. I hung on to everything. For me, it's one of the great female performances ever caught on film.
Though not in the same league, newcomer Kevin Kline is stellar as Nathan; a tragic figure in his own right. He loves Sophie, but is too frequently drunk; & his drunkenness often leads to paranoia & bursts of violence. Sophie, like most women with a poor self-image, forgives him. But then alcohol isn't Nathan's only issue; he is also mentally unstable. Nathan & Sophie have lived together for a while, but neither truly knows the other. Peter MacNicol is tasked with being the straight man in this stormy threesome. Stingo is the observer; and the performance reflects that. So while he's a quieter character, thanks to MacNicol, we still care about him even though the source of drama is not about him. Excellent performances. Excellent film.