2025 Blind Spot Series: Sophie's Choice

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Official Synopsis: Sophie (Meryl Streep) is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live with Nathan (Kevin Kline), a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust.

I was well aware of the choice Sophie had to make before going into this film. It's just a popular phrase in the pop culture lexicon. But I never bothered actually seeing everything that happened after her choice, so when Tubi's search bar was under construction (seriously) and this was the only one of my potential Blind Spots that showed up on a main page, I decided to see what Sophie was up to.

Friends, I was not expecting this movie to play like a damn soap opera. I was expecting something a bit sadder given the subject matter, but instead I got a brightly lit, over acted *gestures wildly* whatever this is.

Meryl Streep is very good, and she's much more grounded in this film than Kline and Peter MacNicol, whose characters I didn't like to begin with, and they way they played them made them even more grating. The strongest part of the film is sadly Sophie's flashbacks, and those don't come until well into this film's 2.5 hour run time. It made me realize that when you hear about this movie, you only hear about Meryl, and now I can see why.

You win some and lose some with this series, and while I'm happy to cross another great Meryl performance off my list, I can't say this was the best start of a Blind Spot year that I've had.

Grade: C


Comments

  1. SJHoneywellJanuary 26, 2025 at 8:33 AM

    I think it's a better movie than you do, but it's also a movie that is designed to be what it is. It's the sort of movie that if you don't like it, people will point at you and say there's something wrong with you.

    It's manipulative, but it's also obvious in its manipulation. It's not one I'll watch again, and I don't think it deserves to be anywhere near the AFI Top 100 list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJanuary 26, 2025 at 4:40 PM

      I feel like a better director could've done wonders with it. Or at the very least reigned in Kevin Kline.

      Delete
  2. thevoid99January 26, 2025 at 2:45 PM

    This film has been in my watchlist for years. I could never find the time or energy to really want to watch this as my interests always went somewhere else.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJanuary 26, 2025 at 4:39 PM

      Yeah I can't say this is a "rush out to see" movie. I already knew Meryl was good.

      Delete
  3. joel65913January 29, 2025 at 9:16 AM

    I put off watching this for years because I was certain it would be gut wrenching when we got to the part of the film where Sophie was forced into her choice. I was correct about that, it was so heartbreaking and horrifying I have very little memory of the rest of the picture. Really the only two things I'm certain about the film is that Meryl deserved her Oscar for her brilliant performance and that you would have to strap me to a chair to ever watch any part of it again!

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJanuary 29, 2025 at 2:51 PM

      That part of the film is so jarring compared to how it starts, which felt almost campy. Definitely one of those "performance is the best part of the movie" types.

      Delete
  4. BirgitJanuary 30, 2025 at 11:21 AM

    Am I bad but Meryl grated on me and I found it so boring o fell asleep. Granted, I fell asleep way before the horrors the character had to face. One day I will try to watch it again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJanuary 30, 2025 at 3:23 PM

      I don't fault you for falling asleep because she is the only thing this movie really has going for it.

      Delete

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