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All Meryl Streep Movies, Ranked By Tomatometer
Meryl Streep landed her first Oscar nomination for just her second on-screen role: 1978’s The Deer Hunter, opposite John Cazale. A few more performances after that and she’d find herself standing before Hollywood’s elite, accepting the gold trophy for her complex “villain” role in 1980’s Kramer vs. Kramer. Stardom came within that decade, as she made her mark across disparate films and genres, becoming versatility personified in the acting game, as featured in a Best Picture winner (Out of Africa), rom-coms (Heartburn), political social thrillers (Silkwood), dramas (Sophie’s Choice), and period pieces (Ironweed).
This canny ability to wedge and dissolve into roles that sparked her attention has been rewarded with a record 21 Oscar nominations over decades, winning three for Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, and The Iron Lady. Yes, there were noms for so-called Oscar bait like Doubt, The Post, and the actually-Rotten Iron Lady, but Streep pulled nominations out of more unique genres, like musicals (Into the Woods), broad comedies (The Devil Wears Prada, Florence Foster Jenkins), and wherever you want to categorize Adaptation.
Streep’s most recent films have been Greta Gerwig’s Little Women adaptation, and the mostly-ignored The Laundromat. She must’ve enjoyed the Steven Soderbergh experience on Laundromat, because she’s teaming up with him again for comedy Let Them All Talk next. Additionally, she’s got another musical (along with the Mamma Mia! movies, they’ve been a late-career boon) in the works in The Prom, from Ryan Murphy. And now, we’re celebrating with all Meryl Streep movies, ranked by Tomatometer!
#58
Adjusted Score: 30.931%
Critics Consensus: Beautifully filmed, but decidedly dull, Evening is a collossal waste of a talented cast.
Synopsis: "Evening" is a deeply emotional film that illuminates the timeless love which binds mother and daughter--seen through the prism of...
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#57
Adjusted Score: 33.071%
Critics Consensus: Despite its powerhouse cast, Lions for Lambs feels like a disjointed series of lectures, rather than a sharp narrative, and ends up falling flat.
Synopsis: Two determined students at a West Coast University, Arian and Ernest, follow the inspiration of their idealistic professor, Dr. Malley,...
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#56
Adjusted Score: 31.821%
Critics Consensus: An enviable collection of sterling actors are all woefully miscast in The House of the Spirits, a plodding saga of magical realism that lacks much magic or realism.
Synopsis: Bille August directed this film version of the Isabel Allende novel, featuring a cast that includes Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep,...
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#55
Adjusted Score: 32.279%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A family nearly comes apart after their teenage son is accused of murdering his girlfriend in this melodrama. Up until...
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#54
Adjusted Score: 41.394%
Critics Consensus: Phillip Noyce directs The Giver with visual grace, but the movie doesn't dig deep enough into the classic source material's thought-provoking ideas.
Synopsis: The haunting story of THE GIVER centers on Jonas (Brenton Thwaites), a young man who lives in a seemingly ideal,...
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#53
Adjusted Score: 40.813%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Based on the novel The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, by Fay Weldon, this film follows a woman's (Roseanne...
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#52
Adjusted Score: 40.704%
Critics Consensus: The creaky plotting, inscrutable characters, and unconvincing ending make it difficult for audiences to connect with Dark Matter.
Synopsis: Inspired by actual events, director Chen Shi-Zheng's socially conscious psychological drama follows the journey of an ambitious Chinese scientist working...
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#51
Adjusted Score: 47.802%
Critics Consensus: The Laundromat misuses its incredible cast by taking a disappointingly blunt and unfocused approach to dramatizing the real-life events that inspired it.
Synopsis: When her idyllic vacation takes an unthinkable turn, Ellen Martin (Academy Award winner Meryl Streep) begins investigating a fake insurance...
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#50
Adjusted Score: 46.116%
Critics Consensus: Despite an astonishing collection of talent across the board, Heartburn's aimless plot inspires mild indigestion instead of romantic ardor.
Synopsis: Though she always played coy about the fact in interviews, Nora Ephron's novel Heartburn is a thinly disguised "à clef"...
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#49
Adjusted Score: 51.925%
Critics Consensus: The impressive cast cannot rescue Rendition, which explores complex issues in woefully simplified terms.
Synopsis: The director of the Academy Award-winning 2006 crime drama Tsotsi returns to the helm with this tale of a Middle...
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#48
Adjusted Score: 53.545%
Critics Consensus: Though Streep is dependably terrific in her role, the rest of the movie is too sitcom-ish, and the romance itself is dull.
Synopsis: Ben Younger's Prime tracks what happens to a variety of different people when a man and a woman fall in...
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#47
Adjusted Score: 57.316%
Critics Consensus: Hawn and Streep are as fabulous as Death Becomes Her's innovative special effects; Zemeckis' satire, on the other hand, is as hollow as the world it mocks.
Synopsis: Two female rivals drink a magic potion from a beautiful enchantress that promises eternal youth. However, after they kill each...
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#46
Adjusted Score: 60.778%
Critics Consensus: Meryl Streep's performance as The Iron Lady is reliably perfect, but it's mired in bland, self-important storytelling.
Synopsis: The Iron Lady is a surprising and intimate portrait of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), the first and only female Prime...
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#45
Adjusted Score: 61.881%
Critics Consensus: This jukebox musical is full of fluffy fun but rough singing voices and a campy tone might not make you feel like "You Can Dance" the whole 90 minutes.
Synopsis: Longing to discover the identity of her true father before she exchanges her wedding vows, the daughter of a once-rebellious...
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#44
Adjusted Score: 56.393%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In this provocative drama, the discontent of a bored British housewife only increases when she begins reminiscing about how she...
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#43
Adjusted Score: 59.516%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: This thriller filmed on location in Oregon and Montana, features Meryl Streep as a daring, strong mother who must navigate...
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#42
Adjusted Score: 58.109%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Falling in Love can be described as an urban American Brief Encounter. Reteamed for the first time since The Deer...
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#41
Adjusted Score: 68.399%
Critics Consensus: Though lensed with stunning cinematography and featuring a pair of winning performances from Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, Out of Africa suffers from excessive length and glacial pacing.
Synopsis: Out of Africa is drawn from the life and writings of Danish author Isak Dinesen, who during the time that...
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#40
Adjusted Score: 59.254%
Critics Consensus: Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep play masterfully off each, but Ironweed's unrelenting bleakness proves to be more monotonous than compelling.
Synopsis: Based on the William Kennedy novel of the same name Ironweed is set in the waning years of the Depression....
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#39
Adjusted Score: 63.73%
Critics Consensus: Despite fine work by an appealing cast, It's Complicated is predictable romantic comedy fare, going for broad laughs instead of subtlety and nuance.
Synopsis: Jane is the mother of three grown kids, owns a thriving Santa Barbara bakery/restaurant and has -- after a decade...
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#38
Adjusted Score: 65.603%
Critics Consensus: Sometimes inventive and witty, this animated adventure into an ant-sized world is a pleasant diversion.
Synopsis: "The Ant Bully" tells a witty and heartwarming story about a 10-year-old boy who embarks on a remarkable journey. New...
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#37
Adjusted Score: 52.997%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A psychiatrist (Roy Scheider) inadvertently jeopardizes his life when he falls in love with the mysterious curator (Meryl Streep) at...
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#36
Adjusted Score: 66.605%
Critics Consensus: Meryl Streep's depiction of an ordinary person doing extraordinary things transcends, inspires, and entertains.
Synopsis: When Roberta's husband left her for a family friend, she left the security of her small town and moved to...
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#35
Adjusted Score: 65.123%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Based on the Brian Friel play, this is a story of the sisters of the Mundy family. The summer of...
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#34
Adjusted Score: 72.382%
Critics Consensus: Meryl Streep's outstanding work helps Ricki and the Flash overcome its inconsistent tone and fairly predictable premise.
Synopsis: Three-time Academy Award (R) winner Meryl Streep goes electric and takes on a whole new gig - a hard-rocking singer/guitarist...
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#33
Adjusted Score: 74.87%
Critics Consensus: The sheer amount of acting going on in August: Osage County threatens to overwhelm, but when the actors involved are as talented as Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, it's difficult to complain.
Synopsis: AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose...
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#32
Adjusted Score: 79.859%
Critics Consensus: On the whole, this Disney adaptation of the Sondheim classic sits comfortably at the corner of Hollywood and Broadway -- even if it darkens to its detriment in the final act.
Synopsis: "Into the Woods" is a modern twist on several of the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, intertwining the plots of...
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#31
Adjusted Score: 76.346%
Critics Consensus: Although it softens the nasty edges of its source material, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a gothic visual treat, and it features a hilariously manic turn from Jim Carrey as the evil Count Olaf.
Synopsis: The best-selling series of subversive children's books from author Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) come to the screen in this...
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#30
Adjusted Score: 81.102%
Critics Consensus: Suffragette dramatizes an important -- and still painfully relevant -- fact-based story with more than enough craft and sincerity to overcome its flaws.
Synopsis: Academy Award nominees Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter, and three-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, lead the cast of...
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#29
Adjusted Score: 76.197%
Critics Consensus: Silkwood seethes with real-life rage -- but backs it up with compelling characters and trenchant observations.
Synopsis: Based on a true story, Silkwood begins and ends with Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep) driving along a lonely road in...
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#28
Adjusted Score: 80.478%
Critics Consensus: A curious, not always seamless, amalgamation of Kubrick's chilly bleakness and Spielberg's warm-hearted optimism, A.I. is, in a word, fascinating.
Synopsis: Based on the 1969 short story "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long" by Brian Aldiss, this science fiction fantasy bears similarities...
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#27
Adjusted Score: 81.606%
Critics Consensus: A rare film that surpasses the quality of its source novel, this Devil is a witty expose of New York's fashion scene, with Meryl Streep in top form and Anne Hathaway more than holding her own.
Synopsis: Andrea is a small-town girl in her first job out of college, who tries to navigate the waters of the...
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#26
Adjusted Score: 81.271%
Critics Consensus: Led by a pair of mesmerizing performances from Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones, Hope Springs offers filmgoers some grown-up laughs -- and a thoughtful look at mature relationships.
Synopsis: Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) are a devoted couple, but decades of marriage have left Kay wanting...
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#25
Adjusted Score: 81.311%
Critics Consensus: Sophie's Choice may be more sobering than stirring, but Meryl Streep's Oscar-winning performance holds this postwar period drama together.
Synopsis: In this film, set in 1947, aspiring author Stingo heads to New York. There he strikes up a friendship with...
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#24
Adjusted Score: 84.348%
Critics Consensus: Boosted by Meryl Streep's charismatic performance as Julia Child, Julie and Julia is a light, but fairly entertaining culinary comedy.
Synopsis: Based on two true stories, "Julie & Julia" intertwines the lives of two women who, though separated by time and...
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#23
Adjusted Score: 80.229%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In this filmization of John Fowles' original novel, we watch as Sara, a 19th-century Englishwoman ruined by an affair with...
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#22
Adjusted Score: 90.747%
Critics Consensus: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again doubles down on just about everything fans loved about the original -- and my my, how can fans resist it?
Synopsis: As the film goes back and forth in time to show how relationships forged in the past resonate in the...
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#21
Adjusted Score: 95.336%
Critics Consensus: Mary Poppins Returns relies on the magic of its classic forebear to cast a familiar -- but still solidly effective -- family-friendly spell.
Synopsis: Directed and produced by Rob Marshall, "Mary Poppins Returns" also stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer and Julie Walters...
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#20
Adjusted Score: 85.45%
Critics Consensus: The movie may be a downer, but it packs an emotional wallop. Some fine acting on display here.
Synopsis: Spanning across various time periods in the 20th Century, a drama which revolves around three very different women: two of...
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#19
Adjusted Score: 85.93%
Critics Consensus: While not the classic its predecessor is, this update is well-acted and conjures a chilling resonance.
Synopsis: A psychological thriller in which a career soldier, Army Major Bennett Marco, grows suspicious about his experiences in Desert Storm...
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#18
Adjusted Score: 87.329%
Critics Consensus: Doubt succeeds on the strength of its top-notch cast, who successfully guide the film through the occasional narrative lull.
Synopsis: When the principal (Meryl Streep) of a Bronx Catholic High School accuses a popular priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of pedophilia,...
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#17
Adjusted Score: 86.822%
Critics Consensus: A squarely traditional yet somewhat progressive Western, The Homesman adds another absorbing entry to Tommy Lee Jones' directorial résumé.
Synopsis: When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task...
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#16
Adjusted Score: 87.723%
Critics Consensus: The final film by the great Robert Altman, A Prairie Home Companion, the big screen adaptation of Garrison Keillor's radio broadcast showcases plenty of the director's strengths: it's got a gigantic cast and plenty of quirky acting and dialogue.
Synopsis: Director Robert Altman and writer Garrison Keillor join forces with an all-star cast to create a comic backstage fable, "A...
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#15
Adjusted Score: 85.666%
Critics Consensus: Uniting a pair of powerhouse talents with a smart, sharply written script, Postcards from the Edge makes compelling drama out of reality-inspired trauma.
Synopsis: Mike Nichols directed this adaptation of actress Carrie Fisher's thinly-veiled autobiographical novel, which stars Meryl Streep as Suzanne Vale, an...
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#14
Adjusted Score: 86.366%
Critics Consensus: Marvin's Room rises above the pack of dysfunctional family dramas thanks to an impeccable cast that includes Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Synopsis: Featuring an all-star cast, this drama is about two estranged sisters. Bessie has spent 20 years caring for her bed-ridden...
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#13
Adjusted Score: 61.116%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Alan Alda wrote and starred in this tale about a big-time politician's struggles with his own morality and the corruption...
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#12
Adjusted Score: 95.795%
Critics Consensus: Florence Foster Jenkins makes poignant, crowd-pleasing dramedy out of its stranger-than-fiction tale -- and does its subject justice with a reliably terrific turn from star Meryl Streep.
Synopsis: A wealthy New York heiress (Meryl Streep) attempts to become an opera singer despite her horrible singing voice. Hugh Grant...
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#11
Adjusted Score: 92.279%
Critics Consensus: The divorce subject isn't as shocking, but the film is still a thoughtful, well-acted drama that resists the urge to take sides or give easy answers.
Synopsis: Joanna Kramer (Meryl Streep) walks out on her advertising-art-director husband Michael (Dustin Hoffman). Though he is obviously insensitive to everyone's...
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#10
Adjusted Score: 105.541%
Critics Consensus: The Post's period setting belies its bitingly timely themes, brought compellingly to life by director Steven Spielberg and an outstanding ensemble cast.
Synopsis: Steven Spielberg directs Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in The Post, a thrilling drama about the unlikely partnership between The...
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#9
Adjusted Score: 91.925%
Critics Consensus: Solid performances lift this drama to a higher level.
Synopsis: Carl Franklin directed this family drama adapted from the 1995 novel by former New York Times columnist Anna Quindlen about...
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#8
Adjusted Score: 93.508%
Critics Consensus: Sentimental, slow, schmaltzy, and very satisfying, The Bridges of Madison County finds Clint Eastwood adapting a bestseller with heft, wit, and grace.
Synopsis: The brief, illicit love affair between an Iowa housewife and a post-middle-age free-lance photographer is chronicled in this powerful romance...
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#7
Adjusted Score: 96.981%
Critics Consensus: Dizzyingly original, the loopy, multi-layered Adaptation is both funny and thought-provoking.
Synopsis: Despite the success of his first produced script, "Being John Malkovich," for which he received an Academy Award nomination for...
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#6
Adjusted Score: 100.9%
Critics Consensus: Fantastic Mr. Fox is a delightfully funny feast for the eyes with multi-generational appeal -- and it shows Wes Anderson has a knack for animation.
Synopsis: Mr. and Mrs. Fox live an idyllic home life with their son Ash and visiting young nephew Kristopherson. But after...
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#5
Adjusted Score: 100.246%
Critics Consensus: Its greatness is blunted by its length and one-sided point of view, but the film's weaknesses are overpowered by Michael Cimino's sympathetic direction and a series of heartbreaking performances from Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, and Christopher Walken.
Synopsis: The Deer Hunter moves from the steel mills outside of Pittsburgh to the mountains of Pennsylvania to the jungles of...
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#4
Adjusted Score: 94.437%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: While visiting Ayers Rock in the Australian outback, a woman sees a dingo sneaking into the tent where her baby...
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#3
Adjusted Score: 101.802%
Critics Consensus: One of Woody Allen's early classics, Manhattan combines modern, bittersweet humor and timeless romanticism with unerring grace.
Synopsis: Woody Allen combines witty dialogue, the music of George Gershwin, and atmospheric location shooting in one of his best romantic...
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#2
Adjusted Score: 113.249%
Critics Consensus: With a stellar cast and a smart, sensitive retelling of its classic source material, Greta Gerwig's Little Women proves some stories truly are timeless.
Synopsis: Writer-director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) has crafted a Little Women that draws on both the classic novel and the writings...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 98.796%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Albert Brooks wrote, directed, and stars in this philosophical comedy about a man having a hard time making a case...
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