Sophie’s Choice
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Cast: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol
Based on the novel by the same name, “Sophie’s Choice” tells the story of Sophie Zawistowska (Meryl Streep); a beautiful woman with a heartbreaking past who wins the hearts of two very different men.
Because she has known both uncertainty and excruciating pain in her past, Sophie clings to the only solid thing she knows…her husband, Nathan. Throughout her life, Sophie is faced with heartbreaking choices. She had to choose whether to live or die when Nathan saved her life after she escaped the concentration camp. She had to choose which of her children to send to their death when she was imprisoned. In the end, Sophie had to choose between the two men she loved and this choice would ultimately be her last.
Nathan is a mercurial character. When he first meets Sophie, he is her knight in shining armor. He saved her life when she was dying of anemia after being imprisoned in a concentration camp, but more importantly, he gave her a new voice through their shared love of poetry. While he does sincerely love Sophie, his love for her is tainted by his uncontrolled rage and jealous paranoia regarding her friendship with Stingo. In the end, despite their toxic relationship, Sophie chooses to die with Nathan rather than finding a life of peace with Stingo. After all the pain that she had endured in her life, he was the only thing that brought her peace, even if that peace came at a price.
Stingo is the opposite of Nathan. While he forms a strong friendship with both Sophie and Nathan, he recognizes Sophie’s fragile heart and over time, she slowly begins to trust him and share the secret pieces of her broken past with him. She tells Stingo that her father taught her languages and he made her feel protected. She is drawn to Stingo because the sound of his typewriter reminds her of that feeling of security she felt with her father. When they are fleeing from Nathan, Sophie reveals her most heartbreaking choice to Stingo; that while she was imprisoned in Auschwitz, she was forced to choose between her two children, sending one of them to their death. In the end, Stingo realizes that he has fallen in love with her and he wants to protect her from being hurt again.
“Sophie’s Choice” is an excruciatingly beautiful story. The casting for this movie is excellent, but Meryl Streep shines as Sophie. She won the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role as Sophie in this film and I can say with absolute sincerity that this honor was well-deserved. While this is not an easy movie to watch, “Sophie’s Choice” is definitely a film that I would highly recommend.
© 2013 – 2016 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Cast: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol
Based on the novel by the same name, “Sophie’s Choice” tells the story of Sophie Zawistowska (Meryl Streep); a beautiful woman with a heartbreaking past who wins the hearts of two very different men.
Because she has known both uncertainty and excruciating pain in her past, Sophie clings to the only solid thing she knows…her husband, Nathan. Throughout her life, Sophie is faced with heartbreaking choices. She had to choose whether to live or die when Nathan saved her life after she escaped the concentration camp. She had to choose which of her children to send to their death when she was imprisoned. In the end, Sophie had to choose between the two men she loved and this choice would ultimately be her last.
Nathan is a mercurial character. When he first meets Sophie, he is her knight in shining armor. He saved her life when she was dying of anemia after being imprisoned in a concentration camp, but more importantly, he gave her a new voice through their shared love of poetry. While he does sincerely love Sophie, his love for her is tainted by his uncontrolled rage and jealous paranoia regarding her friendship with Stingo. In the end, despite their toxic relationship, Sophie chooses to die with Nathan rather than finding a life of peace with Stingo. After all the pain that she had endured in her life, he was the only thing that brought her peace, even if that peace came at a price.
Stingo is the opposite of Nathan. While he forms a strong friendship with both Sophie and Nathan, he recognizes Sophie’s fragile heart and over time, she slowly begins to trust him and share the secret pieces of her broken past with him. She tells Stingo that her father taught her languages and he made her feel protected. She is drawn to Stingo because the sound of his typewriter reminds her of that feeling of security she felt with her father. When they are fleeing from Nathan, Sophie reveals her most heartbreaking choice to Stingo; that while she was imprisoned in Auschwitz, she was forced to choose between her two children, sending one of them to their death. In the end, Stingo realizes that he has fallen in love with her and he wants to protect her from being hurt again.
“Sophie’s Choice” is an excruciatingly beautiful story. The casting for this movie is excellent, but Meryl Streep shines as Sophie. She won the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role as Sophie in this film and I can say with absolute sincerity that this honor was well-deserved. While this is not an easy movie to watch, “Sophie’s Choice” is definitely a film that I would highly recommend.
© 2013 – 2016 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.