her arms joyously aloft. Breathlessly, the radiant
lady in elegant evening pants chortled her surprise: "I didn't even buy a
dress!" Then, "Can I just say there is no such thing as the best actress, there
is no such thing as the greatest living actress ... I am in a position where I
have secret information, that I know this to be true."
There was more, just as eloquent and gracious, an authentically charming
performance. Emphasis on "performance." Anyone familiar with Streep's formidable
craft as an actress might be forgiven for noticing how precisely the scene had
been paced and shaped, down to her "breathless" delivery, from the very first
moment her name was announced!
And there's the rub. America's "greatest living actress" sometimes runs like
clockwork, her style too calculating, cerebral, controlled. Streep can armor
herself up in a character (and accent), flawlessly acting the hell out of the
role. But occasionally, as a non-admiring Katharine Hepburn once snarkily
observed, you can hear the "click, click, click" of wheels turning in the
actress's head.
Still, no less a diva than Bette Davis claimed Streep as her legitimate heir.
And when Meryl Streep is firing on all cylinders, few can match her wattage.
Even in a crappy movie that asks nothing of her, this star can suddenly take
fire, shining a light on some terrible or beautiful truth.
Oscar fell in love with Streep for the first time for her promising
(supporting) performance in "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979). After passionately
embracing her for "Sophie's Choice" (1982), Golden Boy has jilted this classy
dame a dozen times over a period of 25 years, not even giving her the time of
day for what's arguably one of her best and most natural performances ever in
Robert Altman's "A Prairie Home Companion" (2007).
(Everett Collection)
Close
Hotmail
_75.jpg "©Disney XD 'Skyrunners'")
