The actor Roger Ebert declared as “the best of her generation”
By dedicating his life to the art of film criticism and analysis, Roger Ebert developed a reputation for shooting straight from the hip, which made him plenty of friends and more than a few enemies along the way.
When he loved a movie, he was never shy about it, enthusiastically singing its praises and spotlighting the actors, directors, cinematographers, editors, composers, writers, and crew members who worked tirelessly to create a work of cinematic greatness.
Conversely, when he hated something, Ebert wasn’t for beating around the bush. His eviscerations of cinematic atrocities became the stuff of legend, and those who found themselves in the crosshairs would occasionally fire back with some barbs of their own. Not that he cared, because at the end of the day, it was his job to share his own opinion with no holds barred.
Honesty is always the best policy, and having seen the good, the bad, and the ugly that Hollywood had to offer over an illustrious decades-spanning career that took him from Russ Meyer B-movies to a Pulitzer Prize-winning icon, Ebert could only think of one performer who stood head and shoulders above the rest as the best of her generation.
Was it a lesser-known talent who never got the credit they deserved? A ‘Golden Age’ great who thrived at a time when acting came secondary to aesthetics? An independent darling who never made a mainstream splash? An international sensation unknown outside of their native land? Of course not; it was Meryl Streep because that’s what she’s been getting called for nigh-on 40 years.
“She is a great actress, probably the best of her generation, and has given one wonderful performance after another,” he said per the Kennedy Centre, and it’s hard to argue. After all, Streep has become a byword for cinematic excellence and has been placed on such a pedestal that even actors of her own generation have bowed down at the altar and anointed her as the cream of the performative crop.
Even if somebody had never seen a single movie starring Streep – of which there surely can’t be many at this point – her accolades alone would be enough to make a person completely unfamiliar with her work open their eyes wide with amazement and admit, ‘Oh yeah, that’s an all-time great right there’.
Three Academy Award wins from a record-setting 21 nominations, two Baftas from 15 nods, a trio of Primetime Emmy victories, nine Golden Globes from an astonishing 34 nominations, a Tony nomination, two Screen Actors Guild Awards from 20 nominations, and even seven Grammy nominations because why the hell not.
Streep has achieved the monumental recognition befitting a monumental performer, and there’s only one question that would need answered were anyone to disagree with Ebert’s assessment of her being a generation’s finest: who else would it be?
