“The Devil Wears Prada” (2006)
“The Devil Wears Prada” wasn’t supposed to be as good as it was. But thanks in large part to the excellent cast, anchored by Anne Hathaway and featuring a breakout supporting turn by Emily Blunt, it became a hit. Surprisingly though, the heart and soul of the film was Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly. InLauren Weisberger‘s novel, a thinly veiled fiction about her time with Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, Priestly is a monster, the Devil in Prada, without a shred of humanity or redemption. That was changed for the 2006 film, written by Aline Brosh McKenna, which allows for the possibility that exacting boss-from-hell Miranda might just have something else going on below her icy veneer, as amplified by Streep’s carefully controlled performance, with not a hair or gesture or word out of place. The modulation of her voice, using the quietest register to intimidate the most, was one of the markers of her performance—a surprisingly effective choice. After so many dramatic “Meryl Streep” roles, this was a foray into lighter fare, and she was clearly having a ball. Though Miranda Priestly isn’t all that much fun, Streep brings sympathy and dimension to the villainess role, veritably stealing the film right out from under Hathaway. Typical Meryl.
“Doubt” (2008)
John Patrick Shanley‘s adaptation of his own play is thought of mostly as a four-way powerhouse acting showcase between Amy Adams, Viola Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Streep (all four were Oscar-nominated). It is undoubtedly that, with all these great actors behaving so generously toward one another: Adams and Davis unimpeachably brilliant in supporting turns to the fireworks that go on between Streep as the strict, suspicious Sister Aloysius, and Hoffman as the gregarious, possibly pedophilic Father Flynn. In fact, Shanley’s also-nominated screenplay is so dense it could easily drown out lesser actors—it takes performers of Streep and Hoffman’s caliber to be able to expand to the size necessary to contain all this bluster and brittleness. This is the best actor of his generation squaring offs against arguably the greatest actress of all time, both measuring and raising their games, both managing to preserve the ambiguity and fleet-footed wisdom of the story. Just when you think it might be Hoffman’s show, Streep gets that last scene, that last line, delivered with a practically physiological burst of emotion (everything she has starchily repressed to that moment) and instantly all the film’s wit and weight falls back into orbit around her.
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“Julie & Julia” (2009)
By the late aughts, Meryl Streep had become a real challenge for critics. How many superlatives were left? “Julie & Julia” ended up being Nora Ephron‘s last film before her death in 2012, draping a light-hearted picture in melancholic overtones, and as a whole it’s got its fair share of questionable ingredients that make the entire experience something of a letdown. Split between contemporary New York with Julie Powell (Amy Adams) and 1950s Paris with Julia Child (Streep), the story follows the two completely different women as the former is inspired with the latter’s cooking career. Nothing against Adams, who is one of the greatest working actresses around, but her ‘Julie’ portion is totally obliterated by the much funnier and warmer ‘Julia’ section. This is, naturally, mostly thanks to Streep’s uncanny knack for getting under the skin of her characters and never veering into caricature territory (something that, if you’ve seen the film or Julia Child’s real videos, you know would be too easy). The film feels undeniably lopsided and its light-dramedy register is not one that’s particularly memorable for anything other than Streep, but her performance is a polished gem, and was a lovely last gift to her good friend, Ephron.
“The Iron Lady” (2011)
Before you start a riot in the comment section, it’s our obligation to remind you that this is a list of essential performances, not essential films. Phyllida Lloyd‘s “The Iron Lady” suffers from many ailments; poor direction, jarring flashbacks, unnatural dialogue, and a conveniently soft professional depiction of Britain’s infamously ruthless PM, Maggie Thatcher. Having said all that, Streep’s third Oscar is very much deserved (apologies to Viola Davis fans) because for the first time in a career full of playing relatively obscure real-life people, Streep was met with the challenge to portray one of the most venerated and widely recognized politicians of the 20th century. Watch any number of the countless videos out there of the real Thatcher, compare it to Streep’s scenes in parliament and in her cabinet, then proceed to rub your eyes in disbelief, because, yep, she nails it. Streep becomes Thatcher, and all credit to her for making the woman’s humanity dominate over the public’s preconceived idea of her persona. However much the film may gloss over the politics involved, Streep brings Thatcher to oddly compassionate life, whether in her twilight years, or at the peak of her controversial career as a steel-willed woman in a man’s world.
Since we are talking about Meryl “probably the greatest of all time” Streep here, there’s plenty more where the above came from. Beside her uber-dramatic turns in the 80s, she found the time to be playful with Jack Nicholsonin Mike Nichols‘ “Heartburn” (1986), and sweetly romantic with Robert De Niro in “Falling In Love” (1984). In 1991 she gave a wonderfully unselfconscious turn in Albert Brooks‘ “Defending Your Life,” followed by an over-the-top (but deliciously fun) turn in “Death Becomes Her” the year after. The dramatic turns continued in the 90s, though, where she held her own with mutual heavyweights Diane Keaton and De Niro in “Marvin’s Room,” and learned to play the violin like a maestro for the inspirational “Music of the Heart.” Once the 21st century kicked in, her career entered into phase three: another onslaught of brilliant dramatic turns, followed up by less taxing roles where the presumed fun on-set inspired her to let loose and just have a blast. Of these, 2002’s “The Hours,” 2006’s “A Prairie Home Companion” and last year’s “Into The Woods” missed full entries by a whisker.
The stage is yours, dear readers. What are some of your favorite Meryl Streep performances? Did we skip over an essential role? Sound off in the comments below.
–with contributions by Jessica Kiang and Katie Walsh