Written by: Alan J. Pakula
Starring: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol, Rita Karin, Stephen D. Newman, Josh Mostel
Rating: [3.5/5]
The process of learning about another individual begins with what the individual seeks to reveal, typically their better aspects to present a positive front. With time more gets revealed and eventually, demons come out each individual carries learning more, even if the individual does not want it revealed. Sophie’s Choice presents a circumstance where the demons revealed displays something incredibly tragic.
Moving to Brooklyn to write a novel, Stingo (Peter MacNicol) meets his neighbors Nathan (Kevin Kline) and Zofia “Sophie” (Meryl Streep), who have a passionate relationship in both a positive and negative way. As he spends the summer with them he learns more about each of them and what makes them so volatile, especially Sophie, who survived life in a Nazi concentration camp having to make a horrible decision.
The title of this feature has become more famous than the film itself as something where an individual needs to choose between two things with one not selected disappearing forever. Getting the opportunity to see the full context of this predicament establishes something incredibly heartbreaking. A circumstance no individual should ever have to encounter but, of course, would happen in a Nazi concentration camp. This tragedy serves as the ultimate reveal of the film as a whole with everything else pretty much serving as the preamble.
Narratively, this feature moves from the present as it explores Stingo’s observation of the fiery relationship between Sophie and Nathan along with panning back to Sophie’s past informing the way she feels. With quite a long runtime, this feature does spend more time than it probably should on the present timeline where it follows what occurs between this trio where more could have been spent on Sophie’s past. In fact, her past life could have served as its own story standing on its own and leaving the same impact.
With the present timeline, plenty of discomfort gets exhibited in the manner Nathan treats Sophie and deals with his own issues. From the outside and the onset, they give the appearance of a passionate and loving couple but things become much more complex and complicated as things move along. These scenes include moments where Nathan loses control of himself and abuses Sophie with this insinuation of her infidelity. Some of the moments bring immense discomfort as they should, especially as we see this mostly through the eyes of Stingo and how he meekly does not know what to do when it occurs. The relationship has this push and pull between them making them irresistible to the other because of what they mean to each other. Quite toxic but one that fascinates Stingo but also us as audience members.
Much of this gets powered by the incredible acting on display by Kevin Kline and Meryl Streep within the confines of this relationship. Kline certainly excels in crafting someone who has this allure but also a burning rage that should frighten anyone in the way it can switch at any moment. However, we all know the true star of the show is Meryl Streep delivering one of if not the greatest acting performances in the history of feature film. Effortlessly taking on this accent of her Polish character and displaying the emotional roller coaster this woman goes through in both timelines. From the terror she receives in the concentration camp to the contentious relationship she shares with Nathan, Streep owns every ounce of this character, which makes sense considering she earned one of her several Academy Awards for this impeccable performance. Streep’s work helps us overlook the deficiencies existent in the feature and certainly would not have found the same success without what she accomplishes here.
Certainly not a film to just throw on for a casual watch, Sophie’s Choice tells quite the tragic tale on both sides of Sophie’s life shepherded by a legendary Maryll Streep performance to help button everything together. Running at over 150 minutes this feature has plenty of movie it wants to tell and does not necessarily utilize it in the most economical way possible but it proves difficult to argue with it when it consistently delivers heartwrenching moments in the way intends to make the audience feel for this poor women.
Films with Josh 
