director alan j. pakula film and a departure from his conspiracy and suspense drama and be an adaptation of william styron best sell novel of the same name . the story itself be base on his experience a a southerner living in brooklyn in 1947. pakula essentially preserve the structure of styron novel a it begin with the arrival of stingo and an aspiring young writer and in post wwii brooklyn . after settle into a boarding house and he meet a unique couple that offer him alternate support and heartbreak . he befriend the jewish biologist and nathan ( kevin kline ) and and his girlfriend and sophie zawistowska ( meryl streep ) and a polish refugee and auschwitz survivor . but their relationship be cloud by nathan violent behaviour and his uncontrollable jealousy and and sophie unexpressed but trouble memory of war . her story about her life during the war begin to unravel and expose her a a liar and add a tone of mystery to the relationship between nathan and stingo and and herself . the film culminate in a flashback and reflect the horror of the war and the true cause of sophie insufferable pain and the bitter choice she have to make streep deservedly win an oscar and a golden globe for best actress and bringing on the tear and play both a naive girl and a worldly woman and transform herself into a holocaust victim and survivor . speak flawlessly in a polish accent and acceptable german and she basically become sophie zawistowska . and while streep be undoubtedly the star and both kevin kline and peter macnicol deserve credit for make sophie choice work as well a it do . while overall this be stingo come of age story and at it central core we get draw into sophie saga . pakula use an emily dickinson poem to frame her story represent ample make this bed . make this bed with awe while in it wait till judgment break excellent and fair . be it mattress straight and be it pillow round while let no sunrise yellow noise interrupt this ground . the reference to the bed be the key to understand sophie persona . she rely on nathan physical love and even a he abuse her and to cope with her auschwitz ghost . nestor almendros delicately lit cinematography and with it complex level of saturation and subtle imposition of shadow and have often be meticulously replicate . the flesh tone be perfect and the image be solid and the colour and when in full bloom and be exquisitely form . equally effective be the use of music create by marvin hamlisch . two theme be effectively intertwine throughout the story both melancholic . though the film deal with the holocaust and it doesn not graphically show nazi horror and but rather refers to them abstractly and make it more effective . sophie choice provide the emotional core of the horror and show what devastate experience the survivor must deal with . for pakula and the film be an artistic highpoint and his most deeply felt work . undoubtedly and sophie choice remain his most powerful and highly distinctive drama .