Movie Maven

Meryl Streep, one of the few Great Dames left in American cinema is being honored in a retrospective and Life Achievement Award this week at Boston's Coolidge Corner Theatre. The theatre will be showing The Deer Hunter, Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie's Choice, Defending Your Life, Silkwood and Out of Africa. It's a good thing to do if one is in Beantown and wishes to bask in the glory of Streep.

Or if one wants, one could Netflix them and bask, as I intend to do as alas, I am but a poor college student with no time for the treacherous ride down the C-line. But if I were you, I would skip Sophie's Choice (a brilliant film, but don't we all know what the choice is by now?) and go for The Hours or the HBO miniseries Angels in America. Both are still appropriately depressing, but Angels in America has Streep playing executed possible Communist Ethel Rosenberg. And the Mormon mother of a gay son. And an old Rabbi. And an angel.

It's complicated. But gloriously so, and good for a 6-hour marathon of sexual ambiguity, AIDS and religious debate.

Streep is similarly resplendent in The Hours as Clarissa Vaughan, one of the many Dalloway counterparts in the film that literally does "buy the flowers herself" for her dying friend's party. She's a bit more demure in this role, but her performance still shines through as one of the best in the film.

There's also her role in Adaptation. And Dancing at Lughnasa. Oh, and The French Lieutenant's Woman! Oh the list goes on- just IMDB her.

But if for whatever reason you have never witnessed a Streep performance (and it breaks my heart a little to think that someone may not have) and you happen to be passing Boston in your travels this week, go to the Streep-a-thon at Coolidge Corner. It's good for the soul.