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In UK Oscar Winner Meryl Streep
Would Be A Dame By Now
ERE you surprised when Meryl Streep won her third Oscar for her dead-on portrayal of
British Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher in The Iron Lady?
Not I.
Showbiz writers talked about the
Streep victory as one of the shocks of the evening. True,
the Screen Actors Guild had given their top actress trophy
to Viola Davis for The Help. But while Ms. Davis was
fine, that movie was very much an ensemble picture. Iron
Lady would not have been a movie without the Streep
performance—the carriage, the hair and the inimitable voice
of England’s former lady boss.
In England while there was much
carping about the movie, not a single scribe thought Streep
was anything less than astounding.
It appears in American there is an
attitude I will call "anti-excellence." If you are
consistently too good—stand back and wait for the brickbats.
If she were British, Streep would
be a Dame by now and the recipient of just about every award
her country could bestow. In America they give her a trophy
when they can’t in all conscience give it to anyone else.
I first heard her name in l978.
Alan Alda told me that he’d just finished shooting a
political film called The Seduction of Joe Tynan
opposite someone called Meryl Streep.
"Meryl’s a girl," he said, "And
she’s fantastic. You will be seeing a lot more of her."
Meryl Streep as
The Iron Lady |
He was right. Streep, without
doubt, has become the greatest living American actress. Who
can forget her first powerful Oscar winning role, for best
supporting actress opposite Dustin Hoffman in Kramer v.
Kramer in l979. Or the prize for the heart-rending
Polish mother in the l982 film Sophie’s Choice.
Since then she’s racked up 17
Oscar nominations and entertained us in a multitude of
ways: One of her very best, and least seen, roles was the
Australian mother accused of killing her child in the l988
drama, Cry in the Dark. Even the Aussie’s couldn’t
believe how well she captured the character of Lindy
Chamberlain in what remains one of Australia’s most famous
criminal cases. If you’ve never seen it, go rent it ASAP.
We were delighted by her
portrayal in 2009 of chef extraordinaire Julia Child in
Julie and Julia. Remember her anti-nuclear martyr in
Silkwood, and her tour de force, playing three roles in
the much lauded 2003 HBO miniseries Angels in America
where she played an old Hasidic rabbi with a flowing beard,
a Mormon mother of a gay son, and no less a personage than
executed spy Ethel Rosenberg. There appears to be no end to
her talents. No other actress could have pulled it off.
Millions watched as the blonde
legend swept onstage draped in that gold lame dress to match
her gold statuette. Well past her midcentury, after some 70
movies, and four children from her 33-year marriage to
sculptor Don Gummer, she doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
In person she is remarkably
sanguine and modest, easy to talk to and dare one say it: a
normal human being:
Were you shocked to win?
I was happily shocked. The whole
thing is a crapshoot. It’s odd. Two of the other contenders
are good friends (Viola Davis who won a best supporting
actress Oscar opposite Streep in Doubt and Glenn
Close). The other two (Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe
and Rooney Mara in Dragon Tattoo) weren’t even
conceived when I came to my first awards show.
Is it still a thrill to win?
I thought I was so old and jaded.
But when my name was called it was like a white light. I
felt like a kid. It still matters, yes. I remember my first
Oscar time. Lord Olivier was there next to Gregory Peck and
Bette Davis behind. That’s how long ago it was.
Did you ever hesitate about
playing Mrs. Thatcher?
It was an amazing part. There was
nothing like it around, no parts that loomed so large in
people’s imagination.
Did you approach the role with
sympathy?
I don’t know about sympathy. Empathy
perhaps because everyone saw her in a different way. I
wanted in some way to capture whatever it was that drew
people to her: Or whatever it was that made people have
such special venom for her.
Meryl Streep on screen |
Was she a Shakespearean character?
I called it Lear for the
Girls—showing in the end how power diminishes in everyone.
It was interesting playing the most powerful woman of the 20th
century. I have always been interested in older ladies—those
who have led valid, interesting lives.
Why do you think so many people
dislike Mrs. Thatcher?
I think people don't like strong
women.
Why not?
Well, something in politics makes
you appear certain. And certainty is very attractive in a
man but completely annoying and off-putting in a woman. So,
there you go---that's the whole thing.
Does the same formula apply in
Hollywood?
I think that women have to do an
elaborate dance to not appear threatening.
During the Oscar show you were
clutching the hand of your husband. And then you thanked him
first. How do you make marriage work in your situation?
I don't know. You'll have to ask
Don. He's the glue. He’s a great man and we agree on most
important things, which is important. We disagree on almost
all the little things so that's a problem.
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Ivor Davis, a Southern California-based writer,
has covered the Hollywood beat for four decades as a
foreign correspondent for the London Daily Express and Times
of London and as a columnist for the New York Times Syndicate
and Tribune-Media Syndicate.
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 PRODUCT EVALUATION TEAM
PET Picks Prime Videos
By Tim Boxer
. EDGAR Under the skillful
direction of Clint Eastwood, Leonardo DiCaprio gives a
frighteningly realistic portrayal of a man admired, feared
and reviled. At the helm of the FBI for half a century, J.
Edgar Hoover amassed such power that even occupants of the
White House grew to fear him for the secrets that were
bursting his files. Warner Home Video, Rated R, 137
minutes, Blu-ray Combo Pack, $35.99; single disc DVD,
$28.98.
 IMMORTALS
Released theatrically in
November 2011, this heart-pounding action film is available
on Blu-ray with an alternate beginning and two alternate
endings and on DVD. Coming from the producers of 300,
you expect (and get) plenty of battles and adventure. Mickey
Rourke plays a power-mad tyrant determined to grab the
ultimate weapon which could destroy the entire world. Henry
Cavill plays our hero who leads a band of warriors to thwart
this sinister evil in thrilling scenes of fierce battle.
Fox, 110 minutes.
WAITING FOR FOREVER After the
accidental death of their parents, the older son makes a
life for himself working in a bank and raising a suburban
family while the younger lad Will (the amiable Tom Sturridge), a free spirit, tries to find himself in a world
of fantasy – eking out a living as a street performer while
pining for his childhood playmate Emma (the beautiful Rachel
Bilson), a girl who grows up to become a Hollywood actress.
Although their road in life diverges, he pursues his aching
love, but is always thwarted by an innate shyness and
reticence. It’s an endearing story, suspenseful in its
ultimate resolution. Fox, 106 minutes.
 TORA! TORA! TORA! The code that
launched Day of Infamy is relived in this Blu-ray edition of
the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Hawaii. The film won a 1970
Academy Award for special effects, and garnered four more
nominations. This sensational war docudrama, starring Joseph
Cotton, Jason Robards, E.G. Marshall and Martin Balsam,
depicts the unbelievable political and military intrigue
that swirled in the days preceding the attack. Contains 10
minutes of unreleased material. Fox, Blu-ray, Rated G,
145 minutes.
NORA’S WILL An unhappy unstable
woman in Mexico kills herself, but not before conspiring to
bring her extended family to her home for one last Passover
gathering. While the corpse lies under ice in the bedroom,
awaiting burial after the holiday, the ex-husband, an
inveterate atheist, persists in indulging in his ham and
pizza (instead of gefilte fish) at the seder table, the
Orthodox rabbi refuses to bury a suicide within the
cemetery, the devout Catholic housekeeper surreptitiously
places a cross on the body— it’s a surprisingly enjoyable
comedy that’s infused with pathos. It was named Mexico’s
best picture of the year. Menemsha Films, Spanish with
English subtitles, 92 minutes.
 THAT SHOW WITH JOAN RIVERS The
comedienne’s syndicated daytime chatfest in the 1969-69
season on NBC had a workable format: welcome your audience
(of mostly white-haired ladies and mature gentlemen) with a
torrent of one-liners ("I was so single, my parents had a
sign on the lawn: Last girl before the turnpike.). With her
rapid-fire nonstop monologue she didn’t need a comedian to
warm up the studio. On each show she brought out an expert
and a celebrity to dialogue on a specific theme. For a show
on children in showbiz, Jerry Lewis admitted to spanking his
son Gary at age 4. For a show on hats, couturier Mr. John
said he designed a hat for Vivien Leigh in Gone With The
Wind that cost $20,000. Leigh had one stipulation:
"Don’t let them see the hat before they see my face." Joan
asked, "Should women wear veils?" Celebrity guest Soupy
Sales answered, "No, it strains your voice!" Film Chest,
3 discs, 23 minutes per episode, DVD $24.98.
 SUSPICION
Be forewarned. After
viewing this tense film, you may not view your spouse the
same anymore. This British remake of the famed Alfred
Hitchcock classic will keep you glued to your seat to the
very surprising end. Starring Anthony Andrews of The
King’s Speech and Jane Curtin of Saturday Night Live,
this thriller has you wondering fearfully: Is your husband a
murderer of not? Kino Lorber, 96 minutes, DVD $14.95.
 RAPT
A fine French thriller, with
English subtitles, follows the kidnapping of a rich
industrialist and the shenanigans both sides go through to
ransom his freedom. As the details of his sordid life are
quickly splashed on the front pages of the tabloids, the
rich man’s family and friends are startled and take their
time to buy his freedom. If the man is freed, the world he
returns to presents a danger just as much as his
imprisonment by the kidnappers. Kino Lorber, Blu-ray
$34.95, DVD $29.95.
 BOY WONDER An urban psychological
thriller that has already become an underground cult hit,
this riveting film follows a young boy who witnesses the
brutal murder of his mother and takes to the streets to find
the killer. He’s a top student by day and a vigilante
justice seeker at night. Is he a hero? You decide.
Inception, Rated R, 97 minutes, DVD $26.98.
 BARNEY: MOVIE PACK 3-DVD SET
The
first (51 minutes) in this 3-DVD set has Barney and his
friends dance and sing in an enchanted rainforest. Your
kids, ages 1 to 5, will not only enjoy but learn all about
the plants and animals that call the rainforest their home.
The second disc (56 minutes) features the gang playing games
with alphabet blocks, good for the kids to learn their ABCs.
Third disc (51 minutes) has Barney on an adventure of
discovery of new foods and new friends. Lionsgate, $19.98.
 THOMAS & FRIENDS: THE MOVIE PACK
The box consists of three DVDs featuring adventures on the
rails. The first disc (60 minutes) has Thomas and friends
rushing to the aid of an abandoned engine that they fear is
on the verge of being scrapped. In the second disc (61
minutes) Thomas discovers an old town in the mountains, and
everyone helps restore the town in time for Sodor Day. In
the third disc confusion reigns as the engines and Diesels
can’t get along. Lionsgate, $19.98.
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