I have always been a fan of Meryl Streep, this incredibly beautiful and talented actress who has received 16 Academy Award nominations – she is actually the actress with most nominations -, winning for Kramer vs. Kramer (Best Supporting Actress) and Sophie’s Choice (Best Actress).
The reason I decided to write about her (actually, not her but two of the films she was in) is because I watched The Deer Hunter and Kramer vs. Kramer over the weekend. Everyone told me about these two films and since I am now registered with Netflix – one of my brightest ideas – I get to order all the classics I haven’t seen yet.
Of course, you’ll tell me that The Deer Hunter is not at all about Meryl Streep, but she happens to offer an incredible performance in this film. Produced in 1978, this war drama film was directed by Michael Cimino. It tells the story of a trio of Russian American steels workers who decide to go to Vietnam. The Vietnam War only lasts less than half an hour in this 3h10 film. The main themes are the moral and mental consequences of this war upon the community, and the film deals with issues such as suicide and mental fragility.
Even if there is no doubt that it is an impressive piece, the first part – introduction of the characters, the marriage of one of them and the hunt - is a bit long (1h30) and slow. I liked the fact that the Vietnam part was condensed and strong. The last part is the most incredible and disturbing one – how did the survivors learned to deal with the traumatism, or didn’t, and how the community welcomed them back home – and I must say that I was really impressed by Christopher Walken in this film. When it came out, some scenes were quite controversial - especially the ones about the Russian roulette, a potentially lethal game in which participants place a single round in a revolver, spin the cylinder, place the muzzle against their head and pull the trigger - because no official case was reported during the war. Still, a “must see” movie about this historical period.
The other one, Kramer vs. Kramer, is totally different but just has good in another genre, and was produced the same year! The film tells the story of a woman (Meryl Streep) who decides to leave her husband (Dustin Hoffman) and her son. The man –a talented advertising executive who works way too much- learns to live alone with his son, taking him to school, having dinner with him, playing and listening to him. But one day, the wife comes back and asks for the child’s custody. A brutal battle begins to see who will keep their son. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1979, and happens to be really innovative and contemporary concerning the themes broached: the wife who stays at home goes crazy and leaves, the father learns to raise a child by himself, the divorce battle drives everyone to become mean and aggressive, but the interesting thing is that in the end, the person who wins – DON’T READ THE NEXT PART IF YOU HAVENT SEEN THE FILM OR IF YOU WANT TO KEEP THE SUSPENSE-
... is the father. It was in 1979 and I believe it was quite surprising at this time. Even now, I am guessing that mothers usually get custody (my mum did), but in some cases, I think it would be better not to trust the fact that because they carried the child, they’re more likely to be better at raising him/her. Meryl Streep in simply marvelous in this movie –she always is-, which means that it is only one more reason to watch it.
MJ.
