These Are The 30 Greatest Performances of Meryl Streep’s Iconic Career

17. Out of Africa (1985)

Image Source: Stranger Culture Blog

In 1985, the icon traded in her native New Jersey accent for a Danish one in the role of a colonial British coffee farmer running her own operation. Her character must run — over two decades — from young and inexperienced, destitute and broken, to wizened and wistful. In the process, she does it effortlessly. It’s tough to imagine how difficult the 161-minute movie would be without Streep. Out of Africa is a great movie to look at. It’s a movie with the courage to be about complex, sweeping emotions. Director Sydney Pollack is able to use the star power of its actors without apology. The only thing better than Streep and Robert Redford’s performances is the sweeping African landscape framing this historical love story.