Sunday, Jan. 15, marked another win for legendary actress Meryl Streep. She won a Golden Globe for best actress in a drama for playing Margaret Thatcher in the movie “Iron Lady.”
At the award ceremony, actor Colin Firth announced her name as the winner. The first thing Streep said as she stepped up to the microphone was “Oh my God…” She continued, “Well, when Ricky Gervais’ deal fell through and they came to me to play Margaret Thatcher — I can’t joke. This is such a thrill but really really embarrassing in a year that saw so many extraordinary performances by women in leading roles…”
Her speech got off track when she realized she had forgotten to bring her glasses up to the microphone and was forced to give her speech by memory. Several men in the audience passed around her glasses but everyone, even George Clooney, seemed too shy to take them up to the stage for her. The audience cheered her on to continue her speech, revealing one of Meryl Streep’s other talents … the ability to awaken an otherwise dull crowd of actors who seem bored whenever the attention is on someone other than themselves.
Performances given by her co-nominees — Glenn Close (“Albert Nobbs”), Viola Davis (“The Help”), Rooney Mara (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”), Tilda Swinton (“We Need to Talk About Kevin”) — were a few of the “extraordinary performances” Streep mentioned. She also singled out the overlooked Mia Wasikowska for her lead in “Jane Eyre”, calling her “fantastic.”
Another extraordinary 2011 performance by a woman in a leading role that she might have singled out, but overlooked, is Elizabeth Olsen in “Martha Marcy May Marlene.”
Later during her acceptance speech, she got a laugh from the audience when she thanked “(her) agent Kevin Huvane, and God … Harvey Weinstein.” Three of the major Golden Globe awards went to actors in Weinstein Co. films — Meryl Streep for “The Iron Lady”, Michelle Williams for “My Week With Marilyn”, and Jean DuJardin for “The Artist”.
Referring to “Iron Lady,” she also thanked “everyone in England that let (her) come and trample all over their history.” The film has not been as well-received as her performance. Movie critic Roger Ebert expressed this sentiment, saying, “Streep creates an uncanny impersonation of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, but in this film she’s all dressed up with nowhere to go.”
Despite the reception “Iron Lady” has received, Streep is surely on her way to another Oscar nomination. If the Golden Globes are any indication, it appears the Oscar race is between Streep and Michelle Williams (who was nominated in the Comedy/Musical category).
She ended her award speech by saying, “I’m so proud of the film, and I’m so grateful… And I love you Viola (Davis); You’re my girl.”
Sources
NBC, Golden Globe Awards — Jan. 15, 2012.