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Sophie's Choice

Play trailer Poster for Sophie's Choice R 1982 2h 30m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
74% Tomatometer 43 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Stingo (Peter MacNicol), a young writer, moves to Brooklyn in 1947 to begin work on his first novel. As he becomes friendly with Sophie (Meryl Streep) and her lover Nathan (Kevin Kline), he learns that Sophie is a Holocaust survivor. Flashbacks reveal her harrowing story, from pre-war prosperity to Auschwitz. In the present, Sophie and Nathan's relationship increasingly unravels as Stingo grows closer to Sophie and Nathan's fragile mental state becomes ever more apparent.
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Sophie's Choice

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Critics Consensus

Sophie's Choice may be more sobering than stirring, but Meryl Streep's Oscar-winning performance holds this postwar period drama together.

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Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker 09/19/2023
An infuriatingly bad movie. Go to Full Review
Bob Thomas Associated Press 11/12/2018
Sophie's Choice is a rare film, literate, deeply moving and gifted with an absolutely awe-inspiring performance by Meryl Streep. Go to Full Review
Stanley Kauffmann The New Republic 01/09/2018
In other ways the film is just as unsatisfactory as the book, because it's inseparably strapped to basic flaws. The story has no center, no protagonist. To whom does the action of the novel happen? Go to Full Review
Nick Rogers Midwest Film Journal 06/22/2024
2.5/5
Meryl Streep's performance is brilliant but too often back-benched by writer-director Alan J. Pakula's pokey, misguided adaptation of William Styron’s novel. Go to Full Review
Mike Massie Gone With The Twins 09/07/2020
9/10
It's both crushing and triumphant. Go to Full Review
David Parkinson Radio Times 07/13/2020
4/5
For all the significance of the revelations about Sophie's past, it is the interaction between the three central characters that gives the story its strength. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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May 11 I don't know what the big deal was with this movie. Bored me to death and people are really obsessed with the 1940s stories, lol See more Horror fan 4 Jan 28 The movie is worth the watch because of Meryl Streep. She gives a magnificent performance. Tim Treakle See more Jay W 12/02/2024 "Sophie's Choice" is seen by critics as one of the all-time great movies. It is listed on AFI's top 100 films. With all that in mind, why do I not care for this film? I agree that this film has one of the all-time great acting performances. Meryl Streep absolutely earned the Oscar. Her accent is a bit distracting at first, but the audience gets used to it soon enough. And the titular Choice of Sophie is one of the best acted scenes ever put to film. That scene is heartbreaking. Really that scene can stand alone without the context of the rest of the film. But the rest of the film is not to the same quality of that scene. The movie is divided between two main timelines. The flashbacks take place during World War II and focuses on the struggles that Sophie had to go through to survive. That is about 10% of the runtime. The other 90% takes place about 10 years later. There Sophie is in an abusive relationship with an unstable crazy person. Stingo is the awkward third wheel unfortunate enough to be stuck hanging out with the couple. And we, the audience, are stuck right there with him. There is a great film inside of this movie. It is very depressing, but it is very well done. The choice is great, and in fact all the World War II stuff is engaging. Unfortunately, 90% of the film isn't focused on that story. I don't care about Sophie's boyfriend Nathan, nor do I care about Stingo's book. Why does that get more screen time than Sophie's choice in a film called "Sophie's Choice". When people remember this film, they think of the performance and they think of the eponymous choice. If that is enough for you, then this film should satisfy. If you want a great 2hr 30 min movie, then I say, make a different choice. See more Carlos F 07/31/2024 Buena pelicula, impone la duda de cual es la verdadera historia de Sofia, sin embargo me choca la personalidad de Sofia y de su amante, creo que Sofia por sus experiencias deberia ser menos sumisa, y el amante más cuerdo. See more 06/18/2024 This ended up being a sad movie, and to its demise had some unfocused and lengthy parts, but the performances were amazing. I really liked Meryl Streep's portrayal of Sophie as well as Kevin Kline's portrayal of Nathan. What interesting characters with real depth! By the end you truly feel Sophie's pain from her story which was shown rather than told, which on the flip side is Nathan's version of how his story is depicted through his brother! Yet both of their demises and deaths felt significant and hit you hard. Stingo played an important role in their friendship and his dynamic with both of them and how he's a third wheel in both good ways and bad ways was good writing! See more Christian K @ckacar 06/12/2024 A sobering story that showcases some real peaks in acting and filmmaking, but has its fair share of tedious and stale valleys. See more Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Stingo (Peter MacNicol), a young writer, moves to Brooklyn in 1947 to begin work on his first novel. As he becomes friendly with Sophie (Meryl Streep) and her lover Nathan (Kevin Kline), he learns that Sophie is a Holocaust survivor. Flashbacks reveal her harrowing story, from pre-war prosperity to Auschwitz. In the present, Sophie and Nathan's relationship increasingly unravels as Stingo grows closer to Sophie and Nathan's fragile mental state becomes ever more apparent.
Director
Alan J. Pakula
Producer
Alan J. Pakula, Keith Barish
Screenwriter
Alan J. Pakula
Production Co
Incorporated Television Company, Keith Barish Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 8, 1982, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
May 7, 2015
Runtime
2h 30m
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