‘Lions for Lambs’: when Tom Cruise finally fulfilled his dream of working with Meryl Streep
Tom Cruise has worked with some of the greatest actors and directors of our time, collaborating with the great Stanley Kubrick on his magnum opus Eyes Wide Shut, Paul Thomas Anderson on Magnolia and actors such as Dustin Hoffman, Julienne Moore, Nicole Kidman and Philip Seymour Hoffman, to name but a few.
In recent years, he has famously made a name on big-budget pictures such as Top Gun and the Mission: Impossible series, known for his dangerous stunts and complicated action sequences that he performs himself, often risking his life for the sake of entertainment. However, throughout his staggering time on the silver screen, he has named one actor that he was most excited to work with.
Lions for Lambs was one of the directorial efforts of the legendary Robert Redford, a filmmaker whose career behind the camera began with critical acclaim. Redford first achieved widespread recognition as a director with his 1980 debut Ordinary People, a poignant exploration of grief and trauma that earned him the Academy Award for ‘Best Director’. Following this success, Redford directed seven more feature films, including the 2007 political drama Lions for Lambs. The film featured an ensemble cast that included Meryl Streep, Andrew Garfield, and Redford himself in leading roles.
The film follows three intersecting storylines told simultaneously in real-time: a Republican Senator who gives an hour-long interview to a cynical reporter, two special forces troops who are ambushed in Afghanistan and await rescue, and a poli-sci professor at a Californian College who encourages a student to re-engage.
It’s one of the few films in Cruise’s body of work in which he isn’t running and jumping off buildings and holding onto planes as they take off, and it’s strange seeing him sit down for a prolonged period of time. As a whole, the project was less successful in Redford’s filmography, with people criticising the heavy-handed political messaging in the dialogue drama that feels like a drawn-out game of devil’s advocate about war and American politics.
However, while the film wasn’t entirely successful in what it set out to do, there is no denying that the cast lifted the weak source material and filled in all the gaps, with strong performances in each storyline. Even if it isn’t the most recognised among his films, Cruise was just happy to be given the chance to act with Streep, saying, “I couldn’t wait to play these scenes with her, to carry out this wonderful game of wit and intellect. Everything has already been said about Meryl that could possibly be said about an artist, and I think they’re all true. She is an enormously powerful woman and an incredibly generous actor. It was a true dream for me to work with her”.
It is rare to hear anyone utter a bad word about Streep, who is described by many as the greatest actor of her generation. The opportunity to verbally spar with her is one that few would pass on, regardless of the project.
Streep has built a reputation for political thrillers and dramas, starring in The Post and Rendition, showcasing her commanding screen presence and natural ability to pull out the tension from slow-burning stories. Cruise has continued to strive for the best with his collaborative relationships, working with some of the finest that Hollywood has to offer.
