I realise this was early in her film career. And I loved the movie when I first saw it, loved the book even more. But I recently watched it after 20? years and was a little disappointed in Streep's acting, and specifically felt that she did not do a good job with the English accent. I think her acting is great now - but have never been impressed with her ability to mimic accents (seems like I'm the only one, though ;-)
The View from the Slums of Norristown, PA
I myself am English and thought she did a good job with the accent although it has to be said that a lot of Americans who feign a British accent all tend to speak with a plum in their mouth!!
http://s1.zetaboards.com/cyber_cafe/index/
Meryl Streep gets into an accent with a stage approach as she does with everything. It is not surprising since she grew into Hollywood through Musical Theater. That means the accent is too perfect to sound real. She sticks to a formula but fails to realize that there is a peculiar tone to every accent once it takes the tongue of a native. I agree that Meryl Streep and Tracey Ullman are the only women on film who can fake it better than anyone else. But, as I have experienced it in real life, there is a lot to an accent than just the way it sounds. In this movie, Meryl did hit the accent right...but then, she does it in a bland manner. However, it's ignorable....and that means she was good enough.
THIS WORLD IS A BOOK AND THOSE WHO DON'T TRAVEL READ ONLY A PAGE.
She herself recently said she was probably "over my head" with this role (in an Entertainment Weekly overview of her career.) I love her performance (as well as the movie), but admitted it's artificial and not convincingly English. She's not naturalistic, but then she's playing a character who thinks of herself as a character in melodrama. Probably now Kate Winslet would be a more ideal match for the part. But Streep got it intellectually, at the very least.
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Oh my God you three are Morons.
She is AMAZING in this role. You bitter, arm-chair quarterbacks!
And re: the UK accents, you people are so damn arrogant, you would tell each other you can't speak with an English accent.
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I liked Streep in this role. Of course it would be easy to pick an actress of the country whose accent is desired but name any actress out there who could do as many accents as Streep has done over the years. There really aren't any. Her voice in Out of Africa made that film for me. She has had to learn them quickly as in the case of Out of Africa, she listened to tapes of Jeremy Iron's nanny who was Danish. Remember that her accent was not to be modern English in TFLW either but period English and from a specific area. I don't know how that could be perfected in modern times really.
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"Oh my God you three are Morons.
She is AMAZING in this role. You bitter, arm-chair quarterbacks!
And re: the UK accents, you people are so damn arrogant, you would tell each other you can't speak with an English accent".
Not so arrogant as you Americans so it seems. I think Meryl Streep's accent is fine, yet being English I think we can comment and criticise the usage of the language we gave the world (no, it wasn't America. Shock! Horror!!). No doubt, like many Americans, you think we all take afternoon tea at four while sitting in our rose-covered cottages or stately homes and mansions - that's if we're not fox-hunting or fixing our broken teeth of course - so brainwashed are you by Hollywood's idea of how we are as a country and as a people. Actually, we live real lives in real communities - with all the trials, tribulations and troubles that it brings. Drugs, poverty, violence, etc - and we've been doing it for quite a few more centuries than you. Situations that are all too real to you, yet you think we live in a ye olde English theme park that you can come and visit and make such revelatory comments such as "Gee, Harvey, isn't it all so quaint" - or something to that effect. That may be an over-generalisation of Americans, yet we are still more clued up to the real lives of Americans than you are of ours. The majority of people do not speak like Hugh Grant and Princess Diana, and there exists a myriad of accents and dialects that you never hear, yet so biased and pathetic is your TV and film media in portraying the many aspects of life here that you still persist in having such a childish view of us. We don't stereotype Americans by what we see in films and television. Why are you so naive in regard to us? My experiences of Americans comes from those I've met, or have overheard disrespecting my country whilst on a visit here, which seems to be the actions of people who do so to prop up a rather fragile ego and over-congratulatory opinion of themselves. It seems that you don't like it when people answer you back, which is when we get accused of arrogance - though when you do it then it's because you're 'proud Americans'. Sorry to disappoint you but we don't all speak like the Queen, have bobbies on bicycles, walk around uttering such stereotypical phrases such as 'jolly good show' or 'pip pip old bean', or stick our little finger out when drinking our tea - along with all the other fantastical stereotypical nonsense you seem to believe in.
An American accusing us of being arrogant. I'll give you one thing, you sure do have a sense of humour!
Wow, good ot there, ofumalow! Yes, Sarah DID think her life was a melodrama. She needed to grow up before settling down w/ Charles- that's why she was gone for 3 yrs. You have to take care of yourself, before marrying another person.
shareAt the right age, Vanessa Redgrave would have been stunning in the role.
Streep is very mediocre here.
Her accent is fine.
Anyway considering that she is an American actress playing the role within the film, her accent could be awful and it wouldn't matter.
But as it is, it is fine. It's quite plummy, but Sarah is meant to be an educated women (hence her misery / melodramatic / cunning) outtake on life.
All in all a brilliant novel and a cracking interpretation.
I loved the book, but this is one of those rare occasion that the movie was actually better all due to Meryl's amazing acting!!
@lisam73 on Sat Dec 20 2008
I think Meryl Streep was badly miscast in this film. Also, the book--which I've read many times--is much better than the film.
I thought she was much better in the "Sarah" role than as the actress "Anna". She seemed awkward in her "real life" scenes with Jeremy Irons, like she didn't know what to do with the role.
shareShe was utterly gorgeous in all respects.
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