Meryl Streep is a legend when it comes to cinema. Since her first role in the 1977 drama Julia, she has only improved. She has appeared opposite Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Anne Hathaway, Clint Eastwood, and many others.
The legendary actress is still working today, and no one would dare argue that she isn’t Hollywood royalty, and possibly the greatest actress to ever grace the silver screen.
The Best 80s Meryl Streep Movies
Meryl Streep has a massive catalog of phenomenal performances to choose from over her illustrious career, however some of her best and most underrated work was done in the 1980s.
So what were the best 80s Meryl Streep movies?
Here are our picks for the best Meryl Streep movies of the 1980s:
1. Falling In Love (1984)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 58%
Falling In Love is a 1984 film starring Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. It is directed by Ulu Grosbard. The film got mixed criticism and failed tremendously. However, this is a love story that has since gained popularity.
This story centers around Frank and Molly, who run into each other when Christmas shopping for their families. The moment they meet, sparks fly. While they move on from this simple encounter, they meet and recognize each other on the train months later.
Despite being married, these two characters cannot fight their attraction to each other and meet regularly. Their friendship eventually becomes the most cherished part of their lives.
2. Out Of Africa (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 62%
Starring alongside Robert Redford and Klaus Maria Brandauer, Out of Africa is a wartime romantic drama that has received seven Oscars, three Baftas, and three Golden Globes. Streep was also nominated for Best Actress at each ceremony.
This movie follows a married Danish woman Karen Blixen who moves to Kenya with her husband, Baron Bror Blixen (Klaus Brandauer). Streep wishes to become a dairy farmer, but her husband has other plans.
He has extramarital affairs with multiple women and spends her savings on an unsuccessful coffee farm. It causes her to lose faith in him, and she slowly starts falling for hunter Denys Hatton (Robert Redford).
Based on a 1937 autobiography by Karen Blixen, aka Isak Dinesen, the rest of the movie follows the story of these three protagonists and their disastrous love triangle set in 1914 before WW1.
3. Sophie’s Choice (1982)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 78%
This heart-wrenching romantic movie is widely known as Streep’s best work. This 1982 drama is ranked third in the greatest movie performance of all time by Premiere. Sophie Zawistowski (Streep) plays the role of a Polish immigrant who is a Holocaust survivor.
Her character becomes quick friends with American novelist Stingo in 1946 New York. The movie plays through flashbacks that unravel her tragic past with Stingo and forces her to confronts the choices she had to make.
This movie won Meryl her first two Oscars and a Golden Globe.
4. The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 81%
This 1981 romance sees Streep play two characters parallelly. Meryl and Jeremy play actors filming a retelling of a Victorian period drama. Both the parallels show the steamy romance between the characters.
The French Lieutenant’s Woman saw Streep win a Bafta and a Golden Globe for Best Actress.
There’s a constant debate about whether Meryl Streep is the best actress of all time. Though, her 21 Oscar nominations definitely say so! This 72-year-old has no limits to the feathers in her cap. Her tenacity and versatility keep us keen to see what she does next.
So those are our picks when it comes to the best Meryl Streep movies of the 1980s. Did your favorite make the list?
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