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

26. Music of the Heart (1999)

Image Source: IMDb

Based on the 1995 Oscar-nominated documentary Small Wonders, Music of the Heart tells the story of real-life violinist Roberta Guaspari (played by Streep). Streep’s character co-founded Opus 118 — a strings program that provides musical instruction to young Harlem students. If you wanted to encapsulate what a typical Oscar-bait movie of the 90’s felt like, this film does a nifty job. Streep is incredibly likable, but horror auteur Wes Craven has no feel for the material, and the suffocating importance of the story and script never lets up. Streep would go on to be nominated for “Best Actress” (though eventually losing to Hilary Swank).