The 2014 role that went against everything Meryl Streep stood for
Meryl Streep is a novelty in the history of movies, and not just because she has more Academy Award nominations than any other actor, but because, among her countless great performances, she’s only rarely played a villain.
Streep first rose to prominence back in 1979, when her heartbreaking performance in Kramer vs Kramer helped the film become the year’s highest-grossing domestic release, the winner for ‘Best Picture’ at the Academy Awards, and earned her her first Oscar, in the category of ‘Best Supporting Actress’, since proving herself to be someone whose work is always going to be worth checking out, regardless of the project she attaches herself to.
Her performances continue to feel relevant, unlike some of her beloved New Hollywood contemporaries who were also acclaimed for their work in the ‘70s, such as Al Pacino, Jon Voight, Richard Dreyfuss, and Streep’s Kramer vs Kramer co-star, Dustin Hoffman, but aren’t as popular today, while Streep continues to be someone at the epicentre of cinematic culture.
Despite the fact that she now has three Academy Awards and has solidified her legacy in innumerable classics, she hasn’t stopped experimenting, and while she has worked in nearly every genre, Streep’s decision to co-star in the adaptation of The Giver seemed puzzling; as it turns out, she said, “Well, I like to be [the] boss, so that was a good thing”.
The Giver is based on a 1993 dystopian novel by Lois Lowry, and takes place in a world where people have been purged of showing emotion. Babies are conceived through genetic engineering, and all members of society take medications to prevent them from expressing strong feelings or showing sexual desire. Streep’s character is the Chief Elder who presides over the community and becomes an antagonist to the young heroes, Brenton Thwaites’ Jonas, Odeya Rush’s Fiona, and Cameron Monaghan’s Asher.
Although based on a slightly older literature, the film was marketed in the same vein as other young adult post-apocalyptic adaptations that attempted to capture The Hunger Games hype, such as The Maze Runner, Divergent, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, and The Host, and if that’s confused you further as to why Streep chose this film, just look at the other names attached to the project.
The amazing ensemble for The Giver included Jeff Bridges, Alexander Skarsgård, Katie Holmes, and was directed by Phillip Noyce, who might not be a household name, but he’s responsible for several acclaimed genre films, including Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, the two Jack Ryan films that starred Harrison Ford.
Perhaps Streep thought that she would be appearing in something more philosophically sound, and not just another summer adventure film, but The Giver was a box office flop, yet critics were appreciative of her performance as well as that of Bridges, the two members of the cast to emerge from the film unscathed.
Thankfully, she had two other films in 2014 to buttress the failure in The Homesman, which was a sensitive, emotional western directed by Tommy Lee Jones, and Into the Woods, for which she ended up earning yet another Oscar nomination.
