And so, the final leading lady of The Hours is revealed, crowning Miss Streep as the best performer in that movie. (Although it is very close to call, indeed.)
Streep plays Clarissa Vaughn, a bisexual woman struggling with keeping herself under control as her party plans run amok and she questions the state of her good friend Richard (Ed Harris) whom she's planning the party for. It is nothing short of graceful to see Clarissa crack open on camera and the flood of feeling she emits is astonishing.
Oh, Mrs. Dalloway.
Near the beginning you see her foundation start to shake as Richard drills at her in his apartment. Her facial expressions and body language are wildly expressive, keeping Meryl in her character 100% of the time.
So, this is the beginning of happiness.
The life Clarissa leads with her daughter (Claire Danes) also has its own bumps, but there's an instant where she sits down and literally spews forth poetry. This is probably one of my favorite lines from the film.
Bad hostess.
But the scene that literally brings Clarissa crashing down is the breakdown she has in front of a former colleague and friend (Jeff Daniels.) She is utter divinity in this scene. As a commentor on YouTube said, "Meryl Streep's acting is more real than real life." I couldn't agree more.
Well, folks, we're almost there. The countdown's been going on forever, and we've seen many performances along the way: a cowardly lion to a suicidal poet; a pudgy beauty pageant participant to a boy with scissors for hands. But, if you've been paying attention we're missing a performance every list needs. Let's just say she earned an Oscar nomination and totally deserved to win it. Stayed tuned tomorrow for my #1 most impressive performance!
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