MovieChat Forums > Evil Angels (1988) Discussion > Meryl Streep had an Australian accent, n...

Meryl Streep had an Australian accent, not Kiwi


I'm annoyed with the people always saying that she had a "Kiwi accent". She just sounded like the Aussies from the 60s-70s. You guys MUST know that, like in America, even OZ has regional or "historical" accents.

Meryl Streep had the perfect Australian accent for those times.

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She interviewed Lindy while making the film. I would think she modeled her voice on hers.

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I thought Lindy was originally a Kiwi and that her accent was a mixture of Kiwi and Australian, in which case I've heard the real Lindy's voice and if people hear that instead of comparing it to their idea of what an Aussie accent is supposed to sound like, they will see that Streep's accent work was very great. Most importantly she gave a brilliant performance.An entire performance isn't an accent.

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Her accent was a mixture of New Zealander and broad Australian, as per the places that Lindy Chamberlain had lived.

There were slight variations in the way she pronounced vowels (somewhat "clipped") which is more New Zealander than Australian.

"Broad Australian" is probably a lot closer to certain New Zealand accents (in terms of vowel sounds) than the more formal accent of urban areas, which is why it's easy to just say "Oh that's Australian"...but in reality, it's a mixture of both.

I'm not jealous. I don't think her accent was bad. And I think she did an amazing job getting such a complex accent down so accurately...especially since people from the US are notorious for butchering Aussie and NZ accents alike.

She studied Lindy's accent like a pro and put on the performance of a lifetime.

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You are SO SO right. Meryl has always been one of my favorite actresses. She is simply stunning in every role! Her accent is ALWAYS spot-on too, and this role was no exception. That's for sure.

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It wasn't fully Aussie.


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She had neither. Lindy Chamberlain was a New Zealander.

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To me her accent sounded noticeably different from the accents of the actual Australians in the film. The pronunciation of some words sounded like American pronunciations.

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