Meryl Streep is the most nominated actress of all time, a massive 19 nominations to which she has won 3 times. She won for her roles in The Iron Lady and Sophie’s Choice as a leading actress and Kramer vs Kramer as a supporting actress.
This year she picked up a nomination for actress in a supporting role as the Witch in ‘Into the Woods’ in recent years Streep has quickly become one of my all time favorite actresses. It might seem like an obvious choice with her critical acclaim but I really do think she actually deserves every single piece of it. She is different in each of her film roles and brings something to each character she has played on-screen.
I still need to watch the following out of her nominated roles, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Silkwood, Out of Africa, Ironweed, Evil Angels, One True Thing and Adaptation.
I am not using this blog post to say that the actresses who won in these years did not deserve to win, just saying that the performances from Meryl are truly incredible and could have easily won a golden statue.
2014 – August: Osage County – Leading Actress
Character – Violet Weston
Quote – [to Barbara, holding the pills] “You see these babies? These are my best fuckin’ friends and they never let me down. You try to take them away from me, I’ll eat ya alive!”
Honestly I have watched this film quite a lot of times now, it was one I had been waiting for since it was first announced. A very well received play getting the big screen treatment with two of my favorite actresses in it (Julia Roberts being the other). Meryl is incredible in this one and I truly believe it is one of her best ever outings. She is horrible and hilarious all at the same time, you certainly wouldn’t want this woman to be your mother. Cruel, yet you cannot help actually feeling sorry for her in the end. She’s a drug addict and has cancer, yet you hate and then love her for what she says to her daughters. Why on earth was this performance not talked about more? Actually make that the whole film, one of my all time favourites.
2010 – Julie & Julia – Leading Actress
Character – Julia Child
Quote – “These damn things are as hot as a stiff cock!”
Who else could pull off playing such a character as Julia Child than Meryl Streep? Probably not many actresses at all, she was engaging in a film which was probably quite a strange one. Based on a book, which was about a blog. I do however love that it got the big screen treatment with such a fantastic cast. Well by cast I mean two leads in Meryl and Amy Adams, baring in mind I am not the biggest fan of Adams. But this film will make you want to cook/bake and also very hungry. You will also want to be Julia Child and be able to cook that well, thanks to Meryl.
2007 – The Devil Wears Prada – Leading Actress
Character – Miranda Priestly
Quote – “By all means move at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me.”
I am totally going to put this out there . . . One of the best performances ever? Well this was certainly a big task of a performance, to be so cruel and unkind from start to finish. Surrounded in a fantastic cast it really is such a special performance. Surely winning the Oscar for this would have been such a good reward, it has to be up there as Meryl’s best ever roles. What an incredible character who appears to have no heart whatsoever but has moments where you think she is breaking through. Worst ever thoughts of having her as a boss that is all.
2000 – Music of the Heart – Leading Actress
Character – Roberta Guaspari
Quote – “This beautiful concert that you’ve just heard could be the very last concert for the East Harlem Violin Program. The board of education and the district attorney think that music isn’t important. But they are wrong! And they’re gonna get a *big* fight!”
Possibly the least know of the performances I have picked on this list? Well when I first saw this film it was on Netflix and I am going to be totally honest I had never actually heard of it before. So decided hey Meryl’s in it so it will be worth a watch, it certainly was and she puts in such a heart filled performance as a music teacher who really wants to make a difference. Despite being told that what she does will not matter she wants to make a change in the community.
1996 – The Bridges of Madison County – Leading Actress
Character – Francesca Johnson
Quote – “I had thoughts about him I hardly knew what to do with, and he read every one. Whatever I wanted, he gave himself up to, and in that moment everything I knew to be true about myself was gone. I was acting like another woman, yet I was more myself than ever before.”
One of my all time favorite films and it breaks my heart every single time I watch it. Honestly I have hope every single time that she will get out of that car, which is silly as we already know how it was going to end up but that is how powerful this story and the performances are. Meryl is Francesca a woman who is not happy with the way her life has turned out and everything is changed one summer when she meets a man. This man is obviously not her husband and shows her passion and love in a way she never even imagined. Incredible chemistry with Clint Eastwood it is so sad she did not pick up an Oscar for her incredible performance.
1991 – Postcards from the Edge – Leading Actress
Character – Suzanne Vale
Quote – “I’m not a box, I don’t have sides. This is it, one side fits all!”
This was certainly one of those films that when I eventually saw it I was wondering why I had never actually seen it before. Suzanne has drug and drink problems which spiral out of control to see her take in stint in rehab to try to sort her life out before she totally spoils and loses her career. Streep in a film as Shirley MacLaine’s daughter, do you even need another reason to watch this film? Honestly though Streep more than holds her own with MacLaine and they bring out brilliant performances from each other. The film has a nice heartwarming feel in the end as well, something that does not look likely throughout.
1979 – The Deer Hunter – Supporting Actress
Character – Linda
Her first ever nomination in such a heartbreaking thought-provoking film, she didn’t have the biggest of parts but we all know that it shows her star quality. Especially when your acting with DeNiro and Walken.
What are your favorite Streep performances?
