A few years after the Second World War, a young writer moves from Virginia to New York. Rents are too high in Manhattan. (Doesn’t this sound familiar?). So he settles in Brooklyn, renting a room from an elderly lady in a pink Victorian house that seems to attract eccentric people like a light pulp attracts flies. Among the roomers are Sophie (Meryll Streep) and Nathan (Kevin Kline), who are lovers and quickly become the aspiring writer’s best friends. Our writer fears that he will be without female companionship all his life and since it also may deliver good writing material he decides to fall in love with Sophie. If a triangle relationship is not complicated enough,  Sophie and Nathan add drama to this constellation by bringing particularly large pieces of psychological baggage to the mix. Step by step we learn about Sophie’s and Nathan’s backgrounds. Their past is very sad indeed. In the hands of a less gifted storyteller, the movie would have left the viewer deeply depressed. But it does not. This miracle is partly achieved by Meryl Streep’s spectacular performance. Watching her play Sophie is to see one of the best pieces of acting that made it onto the big screen.

In the hands of a less gifted story teller the movie would have left the the viewer deeply depressed. But it does not. This miracle is partly achieved by Meryl Streep