Meryl Streep commenting that she played it on "automatic pilot". She performed the role of Katherine in "The Taming of the Shrew" for Shakespeare in the Park, and also played a supporting role in "Manhattan" (1979) for Woody Allen. Streep later said that Allen did not provide her with a complete script, giving her only the six pages of her own scenes, and did not permit her to improvise a word of her dialogue. In the drama "Kramer vs. Kramer", Streep was cast opposite Dustin Hoffman as an unhappily married woman who abandons her husband and child. Streep thought that the script
Meryl Streep on screen and stage "Sophie's Choice" (1982). She was awarded the Best Actress Oscar for the latter. Streep portrayed the real-life character of Karen Silkwood in Mike Nichols' drama "Silkwood" (1983), before starring in her most financially successful release of the decade, the romantic drama "Out of Africa" (1985), in which she played the Danish writer Karen Blixen. Despite intermittent successes, Streep's career went through a period of decline post-1985, with several commentators criticizing her for her inclination towards melodramatic roles. The criticism continued despite her attempts to actively star in commercial comedies, films that parodied women's beauty and aging, "She-Devil" (1989) and "Death