Sophie's Choice (1982)

Featured Audience Ratings

• moon r

  
  In Brooklyn in the years following WWll and a young Southern writer falls for a refugee of Auschwitz who is herself embroiled with a charismatic American Jew, only all is not rosy. Everyone is carrying baggage and the film opines that the choices we make (especially with… More
  In Brooklyn in the years following WWll and a young Southern writer falls for a refugee of Auschwitz who is herself embroiled with a charismatic American Jew, only all is not rosy. Everyone is carrying baggage and the film opines that the choices we make (especially with relationships) are directly related to the baggage we carry. Its a mouthful to relay in the space of a film but the actors make it easier, lead by Streep who is at her most luminous.

• Chris W

  
  Hmm, let's see here: this hasn't aged well, but it's still a decent film filled with excellent performances. Hoenstly, that's really the highlight here. Essentially this film is just high melodrama with a Holocaust stroy thrown in as a way to make a love triangle… More
  Hmm, let's see here: this hasn't aged well, but it's still a decent film filled with excellent performances. Hoenstly, that's really the highlight here. Essentially this film is just high melodrama with a Holocaust stroy thrown in as a way to make a love triangle seem more interesting. That is, of course, a simplification, but not too far from the truth. I did like this film though, even if I don't see it as beign a real cinematic masterpiece or anything. Maybe had the film focused more on the Holocaust stuff and less on the post war stuff, or maybe had they taken the titular moment and made it the real centerpiece or something I could find this film to be more brilliant, or at least as brilliant as the performances. That's all anyone seems ot talk about here are the performances, well, mostly Streep's. It's true, this is her greatest achievement as an actress, and this is a beuatiful turn she gives as a Holocaust survivor with a really dark past. The others are good too though. I used to think that peter MacNicol was only good at playing the creep in Ghostbusters II; I'm happy to report that he does a really good job here as well. Kevin Kline gives a remarkable performance as a really unbalanced man with whom you can never predict what he will say or do next. They both get overshadowed by Streep, but that's kinda understandable. I liked the music, and the look was decent, but the stroy just didn't quite have me like maybe it should have. I'm no ogre. The scene where the film gets it's title is a very heartbreaking and emotional scene-I just wish the rest of the film could have been as focused and stirring. Maybe they could have trimmed some of the running time in the process. All in all, a decent film, but nothing extremely remarkable, although that goes for the film as a whole, and not the individual parts that make it up. You should see this if only for the acting. One may think that such a statement is overrated, but I disagree. The work here (mostly Streep's) will forever be one of the greatest examples of successful acting ever committed to film.

• Jon L

  
  Sophie's Choice takes you on quite a memorable rollercoaster ride of emotion. It's a film that has great characters and great actors to back them up. You really feel for these individuals and go through all their pains as well as their happy times. It's not a… More
  Sophie's Choice takes you on quite a memorable rollercoaster ride of emotion. It's a film that has great characters and great actors to back them up. You really feel for these individuals and go through all their pains as well as their happy times. It's not a 'feel good' movie if that is what you are looking for, but it is an interesting perspective on what many people have gone through from a war-torn era. It's almost like 2 films in one, or at least two storylines in one film, therefore it makes it quite a long one, but it is necessary and leads to an entertaining film.

• Jim H

  
  What high drama! Sure: the eponymous "choice" is intense, but what makes this film so finely balanced is the subplots with Nathan and Stingo. There is enough light-hearted action to prevent this from becoming a two-and-a-half-hour downer, and the contrasting elements - the… More
  What high drama! Sure: the eponymous "choice" is intense, but what makes this film so finely balanced is the subplots with Nathan and Stingo. There is enough light-hearted action to prevent this from becoming a two-and-a-half-hour downer, and the contrasting elements - the light frivolity of Nathan, Sophie's enraptured, co-dependent love for him, and Stingo's gentle, Southern demeanor - make the heavy moments of the film - Nathan's eventual break down and mood swings and the now-famous choice - all the more effective. All of the performances are excellent, but what probably gets lost in the shuffle of Kline's energy and Streep's effortless, bilingual portrayal is MacNicol's steady, heartfelt nature. His performance is so natural and he listens with such a relaxed demeanor that I daresay his is the finest work in this film. That said, there are moments when the film wanders. There are occasions - albeit few - when I wondered about the film's heavy concentration on the flashbacks, which were not leveraged to the degree they could have been. Overall, though, it's not the depressing, maudlin tear-jerker I expected and avoided for so long, and the film is better for it.

• Lady D

  
  An enjoyable film throughout, whether it be the relationships between the main characters, the flashbacks or the actual theme of the film. Streep is fantastic and whilst I can't assume her accent to be perfect , it came across authentic. Kevin Kline was the was the biggest… More
  An enjoyable film throughout, whether it be the relationships between the main characters, the flashbacks or the actual theme of the film. Streep is fantastic and whilst I can't assume her accent to be perfect , it came across authentic. Kevin Kline was the was the biggest sruprise for me, (having only seen him in Comedy Roles before) who gave a truly good performance. An intriguing tale with many tangents.

• Jeremy S

  
  Not only Meryl Streep's greatest role, but quite possibly the greatest female lead role ever performed. An absolutely devastating film.

• Mason W

  
  This is one of my all time favs of Meryl Streep's. What a wonderful film that discusses the harsh reality of a woman trying to move on after being part of a concentration camp in WWII. This is a MUST SEE!

• jay n

  
  Brilliantly acted, throughly depressing.

• Leigh R

  
  It was okay.

• Alec B

  
  If it wasn't for Meryl Streep, I think this film would have been completely terrible. See it for her and nothing else. The scene were Sophies Choice is revealed is one of the most heartwrenching things ever put on film and it is all because of streeps performance. The rest of the… More
  If it wasn't for Meryl Streep, I think this film would have been completely terrible. See it for her and nothing else. The scene were Sophies Choice is revealed is one of the most heartwrenching things ever put on film and it is all because of streeps performance. The rest of the film is rather dull an unintersting, but worth your time for it's one great performance.

• Joey N

  
  Meryl Streep gives one of the best performances ever in this film. She's a natural. I was surprised about how little the movie focused on its famous scene. When it came though, the tears a'flowed. Kevin Kline is such an ass.

• Audrey L

  
  A complex but beautifully crafted sory-tragic,poignant and Kline and Streep are excellently cast. The plot is somewhat complex-not real impressed with the adaptation form the book or the editting.

Read all 12 featured audience ratings