The 2015 movie that made Meryl Streep suffer for her art: “Look! Blood!”
When an actor puts their heart and their soul into a movie, you can usually tell, even if the finished movie isn’t exactly a masterpiece. That’s why, no matter what Meryl Streep stars in, you’re in for an impressive performance.
The actor, for the most part, picks pretty great roles, whether it’s an emotionally-driven drama like Sophie’s Choice or something a little more fun, like The Devil Wears Prada. She has tried out practically every genre, and with 21 Oscar nominations, three of which she has won, it’s safe to say that Streep is a champion of Hollywood.
Yet, among these many movie and television roles are a few questionable choices that you might’ve thought Streep was above, but I guess there are few actors out there who actually have perfect filmographies. So, on closer inspection of her career, you can find projects like Lions for Lambs, The Prom, The House of the Spirits, and Don’t Look Up, all of which seemed below her talents, and then there’s Ricki and the Flash.
When you first look at the poster, with Streep in heeled leather boots, a guitar slung over her shoulder, you can’t help but think, ‘Oh, Meryl’. She’s a fantastic woman, and an incredibly talented one, but is she ever going to be a convincing rockstar? Absolutely not.
The actor took the leading role in Jonathan Demme’s final film, which saw her play a woman who ditches her family in her quest to become a rockstar, with her real-life daughter, Mamie Gummer, playing her on-screen offspring, too. Yes, you read that right, Demme, as in the director of The Silence of the Lambs. His last film certainly wasn’t his best.
Penned by Diablo Cody, who also wrote Jennifer’s Body and Juno, the movie was inspired by the writer’s own mother-in-law, but the critics weren’t overly impressed. The movie received mixed reviews, although, as always, Streep was captivating as Ricki, but wearing the most stupid hairstyle imaginable, paired with a leather jacket, it all feels a little too manufactured.
Yet, Streep still ensured that she was more than prepared for the part by practising the guitar for six months; she wasn’t going to merely pretend that she could play. According to Demme (via Rolling Stone), the actor was so dedicated that she made her fingers bleed. “She goes, ‘Jonathan, look! Blood!’ Meryl had shred so fiercely, a little blood had spattered on her baby blue dress”.
So, it might not have been a huge hit, but Ricki and the Flash allowed Streep to have a bit of fun, even if she was left with bleeding fingers. Was she really suffering for her art, though?
The movie wasn’t exactly a masterpiece, but if Streep’s going to be involved in a project, she’ll make it worth her time. Honestly, it’s surprising that she didn’t end up with an Oscar nomination despite the film’s mediocrity; I mean, she earned one for Into the Woods.
