By Lubna Abdel-Aziz Here she comes again! Fresh from her Oscar win for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher, "The Iron Lady", the ageless, indomitable, unflappable Streep, as in Meryl, comes roaring back in another stellar performance, as the unglamorous Kay, in "Hope Springs". The greatest living actress continues to astound us, not only with her endurance, but with the depth and breadth of her limitless skill. For one who is not a fan, I find myself writing about her over and over. How can one help it? Her deftness, her aptitude, her proficiency at her craft knows no bounds. And the clamour for her talent knows no end. For all this, the lady Streep has been showered with every praise, every accolade, every award in the business. She has broken all records in the number of nominations for Oscars, Baftas and Golden Globes, etc., and the lady is hardly finished. In Hollywood, offers taper off once you hit 50, especially for leading ladies, but not this one. At 63, Streep is more popular than ever, pursuing a busy career in film, stage and occasionally TV. Her range covers the whole spectrum, from comedy to tragedy with the same mastery and aplomb. Four years ago we saw her kick her heels and belt a song, with the best of them as Donna in" Mamma Mia", (2008), a far cry from the elegant grace of Lady Thatcher, which gave her third Oscar, making her the fifth actor in history to receive that number. Jack Nicholson, Ingrid Bergman, Walter Brennan and Katherine Hepburn precede her. Hepburn went on to win 4 Oscars, a record Streep is likely to match, or even surpass. This season's outing may just do it for this Vassar/ Yale graduate, who still turns heads, especially when wearing Prada. Reunited with her "Devil Wears Prada" director, David Frankel, Streep brings with her a most delightful surprise by the name of Tommy Lee Jones. It is strange that these two have never been teamed up before on the screen and only once in a Public Theatre play decades ago in New York. He plays Arnold to her Kay, a couple of empty-nesters, whose marriage of 31 years has lost its spark. Filled with the poison of ennui, Kay feels they must re-ignite that flame, before giving up entirely. Kay persuades a resistant Arnold to attend a retreat run by a renowned marriage counselor, (Steve Carrel). He strongly resists at first, preferring his sad existence in a desert of reality, where no romance or passion can survive. It is a theme that reverberates with many a marriage, at any age. Originally conceived as a comedy, the movie is mercifully saved by the finesse of those two talents, from becoming just another romantic comedy for senior citizens. Having lost their youthful romance in the pre-occupation of daily life, they attempt to revive all the tiny memories which once attracted him to her and her to him. What a picture we have here! Well deserving of all '4-star' ranking it received and then some, we can almost hear the characters pulses throb as the love story unfolds and the couple grow warmer and warmer towards each other. The total delight is provided by Tommy Lee Jones. Says Meryl:" I've wished to work with him for 35 years. He is so graceful in this part. He is an incredible actor!" That he is! He excels in every role, big or small. His physique, stodgy and muscular, with a face rough-hewn and bony, is rather deceiving. He is quite the scholar, a man of culture and wit, an English Literature major, he roomed all 4 years at Harvard University with Al Gore, future US Vice-President. Born in Texas in 1946, he won a scholarship to St. Mark's, an elite prep school, which prepared him for Harvard. There he played football as well as the lead in Shakespeare's "Coriolanus", among other theatre roles. Too slight to pursue a football career, Tommy headed for Broadway on graduation in 1969, and later to Hollywood in 1975. His first feature film debut was the roommate to Ryan O'Neal's character in the popular blockbuster "Love Story", (1970). He catapulted into A-list Hollywood stars with his performance as the hard-edged but ultimately sympathetic US Marshal, Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller "The Fugitive". His brilliant rendition eclipsed his famous co-star, Harrison Ford, and won him an Oscar to boot. He teamed up with Will Smith in the science-fiction/ comedy/ action/ thriller/ box-office triumph "Men in Black" (1997). He received kudos for his performance as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell in the Academy Award Winner for Best Picture of 2007, "No Country for Old Men". A champion polo-player, he is a dedicated horseman and owns a 3000-acre ranch in San Saba, Texas, his place of birth. They say "he snarled his way to the pinnacle", and that suits Meryl just fine, as well as his million fans, anxious to see the union of Harvard and Yale and the magic they create in "Hope Springs". The success of the film rests on the almost virginal dreaminess, the tender touch of love and the total charm of two iconic actors as they portray a lost couple trying to find their way out of the fathomless void of boredom into the sparkling light of love. "Hope Springs" offers a vital lesson for every marriage, of any age! "Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures." -- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
