0
0
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
A quote that has stayed with me since I was in high school is from my calculus professor. The quote is, “Life is full of choices.” That is what life is. It is full of everyday choices that we make that can change the way our life goes. Have you ever had to make a choice that completely changed your world? Maybe you decided to keep a job rather than going for another? Perhaps it is a little choice about what movie should see, and the one you went with changed the way you looked at the world.
Recently, I had the chance to watch Sophie’s Choice. The film was directed and written by Alan J. Pakula and was adapted from William Styron’s 1979 novel of the same name. Sophie’s Choice beings in 1947, when Stingo (MacNicol), a Southern and aspiring writer, moves to New York. He moves into a boarding house right after World War II. Stingo meets his neighbor Sophie Zawistowska (Streep), a Polish immigrant, and her emotionally unstable lover, Nathan Landau (Kline). Nathan becomes friends with the two but soon notices strange behavior from them. Nathan is a hugely jealous hothead who has significant mood swings and constantly believes that Sophie is unfaithful to him, where he abuses and harasses her. On the other hand, Sophie is more introverted and always smiles. As time goes on, Sophie soon reveals her traumatic story and what happened during the war she escaped.
Sophie’s Choice is an interesting film, I must say. I sat here and thought for the whole movie that she would choose between leaving Nathan and going with Stingo. That was the feel of the entire film because Nathan was so all over the place, and Stingo was calmer. Yet, the film showed sweet moments from Nathan and then abusive moments from Nathan. Honestly, another thought I had was that Sophie would shoot Nathan during one of his moody fits. The film makes you wonder what choice Sophie would make until the very end. I think that is where the film falls flat because you don’t know what will happen and spend the movie wondering about the choice.
The actual choice Sophie made is quite heartbreaking. When she finally opens up about her past, it might make you cry but feel major sympathy for Sophie. ALSO, SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!! Stingo learns that Sophie’s father was a Nazi sympathizer. When Stingo confronts Sophie about it, she decides to tell him the truth about her past. She had a war-time lover named Jozef, who lived with his half-sister, Wanda, and was a leader in the Resistance. Wanda asked Sophie to translate some Gestapo documents, to which Sophie said naw because she didn’t want to put her children in danger. Two weeks later, Jozef is killed, and Sophie is arrested and sent to the one place that NO ONE wanted to go to. That place is Auschwitz, along with her children. Sophie then reveals the choice she had to make. Upon her arrival, she is forced to choose which one of her children would be gassed and which would proceed to the labor camp. A major and fucked up choice. How can people be so cruel, and it’s a choice no mother should make. Sophie decides to have her older son, Jan, go to a labor camp and her baby daughter, Eva, to the gas chamber. Sit on that sentence for a while.
The acting is what propels this film. Let’s start off with Peter MacNicol as Stingo. He was a decent and caring person looking to write a novel. MacNicol worked that southern accent. It is still hard for me to watch him because I remember him from Ghostbusters 2. All I can hear is him saying, Viggo. Then we have Kevin Kline as Nathan Landau. I didn’t realize that this was Kline’s feature film debut. Kline was somewhat over the top. I thought he went from this movie straight from A Fish Called Wanda. Kline brought that insanity to Nathan that made you wonder what his deal was.
The star of this film was Meryl Streep as Zofia “Sophie” Zawistowski. You know how I feel about Streep. She is the queen and GOAT when it comes to acting. Streep brought her A-game with the versatility and passion that she brought to Sophie. Steep consistently embodies her characters, and Sophie is no different. You see that Sophie is an introverted woman who lives with an abusive lover. Yet, she is supportive and always wants to make him happy. When Sophie tells her heartbreaking story, Streep makes sure you feel Sophie’s pain.
Sophie’s Choice is a drama film that makes you wonder about the choice that Sophie has to make. The story is meh as it seems like a jealous love affair between the three characters. When the truth of Sophie’s choice comes to light, it is heartbreaking. Streep is phenomenal as Sophie and should be applauded for her portrayal. Watch Streep give one of her finest performances.
