Meryl Streep is considered by many (yours truly included) to be the greatest actress of her generation. She has accumulated a resume to rival the all-time greats and has 21 Oscar nominations to lead all performers with 3 wins, 1 for Best Supporting Actress in Kramer vs. Kramer, and 2 for Best Actress for Sophies Choice and The Iron Lady. How she didn’t get one as Sister Aloysius Beauvier in Doubt is still a mystery to me.

When discussing Ms. Streep you must acknowledge that she has such range, she can do heart rendering drama’s like the aforementioned Sophies Choice and Silkwood (should have been another Oscar), laugh out loud comedies like Don’t Look Up, and of course musicals like Mama Mia!

Here are my 3 picks for let’s say, “not as well known” Meryl Streep movies you must watch.

The River Wild was directed by Curtis Hanson from a script by Denis O’Neill and stars Meryl, Kevin Bacon, David Strathairn, and an early role for John C. Reilly and was released in 1994. Ms. Streep trained in white water rafting and the cast did many of their own stunts, impressive.

The River Wild has been described as a thriller and I believe that is apt. The film follows Gail Hartman (Streep), a former river guide, who embarks on a white-water rafting trip with her husband Tom (Strathairn) and their son Roarke (Joseph Mazzello) to celebrate Roarke’s birthday. Their adventure turns perilous when they encounter two fugitives, Wade (Bacon) and Terry (Reilly), who take the family hostage and force Gail to navigate the treacherous rapids to aid in their escape. 

The key feature of The River Wild in my point of view is the strong female lead who becomes protector of her family – this was rare for 1994, hell it’s even rare today, sadly. Very few actresses have the screen presence and acting chops to portray this 180 character but of course Ms. Streep is up to the challenge, she carries this film with a very strong supporting cast led by Kevin Bacon, who himself plays against type as a desperate fugitive who won’t let anyone – especially a woman – stand in his way of freedom.

Meryl Streep was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her role, while Kevin Bacon received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. 

Amazon and Apple have The River Wild for less than $4 and I promise you will enjoy this wild ride of a movie with great action, and acting.

Defending Your Life was a movie written, directed and starring the great Albert Brooks, which costars Ms. Streep, the late great Rip Torn, and Lee Grant (one of my mom’s favorites) and was released in 1991.

In Defending Your Life, Daniel Miller (Brooks) dies in a car accident and finds himself in Judgement City, a clean, resort-like limbo where recently departed souls must literally defend their lives in a celestial courtroom. The goal? Prove they overcame their fears on Earth in order to “move on” to the next phase of existence (a higher dimension of being). If not, they’re sent back to Earth to try again. By the way, an element to the movie is that you can eat anything you want at Judgement City and not gain weight! Sounds like heaven right? Not quite yet.

Daniel is assigned a defense attorney (Rip Torn) and must face a panel of judges while scenes from his life are played like courtroom evidence.

Meanwhile, he meets and falls in love with Julia (Streep) who is an extraordinary woman whose life was filled with courage, compassion, and heroism. Julia seems a no brainer to ascend, while Daniel’s fearful and cautious past puts his fate in question.

As Daniel confronts his regrets and self-doubt, he must decide whether he’s willing to finally fight for something – the love of Julia – for the very first time in his existence and “move on” with her.

Defending Your Life has an 98% rating on rottentomatoes.com.

The usual suspects of Amazon and Apple offer this lost classic for less than $4 and you will see a side of Meryl Streep not seen before, or much since.

Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson only worked together twice, in 1986’s Heartburn, and 1987’s Ironweed.

Ironweed is a movie directed by Hector Babenco from an adapted script by William Kennedy from his 1983 Pulitzer Prize winning book of the same title and stars Streep, Nicholson, Michael O’Keefe, and raspy song stylist Tom Waits and was released in 1987.

Set during the Great Depression in Albany, New York, Ironweed follows Francis Phelan (Nicholson), a former baseball player and gravedigger who has been living on the streets for years, haunted by guilt and memories of his past.

Francis returns to Albany after years of drifting, hoping to reconnect with the life he abandoned. Alongside him is Helen Archer (Streep), a once-talented pianist and singer who has also fallen into homelessness and illness. The two share a bond of love, sorrow, and addiction.

Streeps’ performance while understated is a slow brewing hot kettle of regret and disillusionment in an era of the great American crisis.

As Francis wanders through his hometown, he is haunted—literally and figuratively—by the ghosts of people he believes he’s let down, including a fellow worker he accidentally killed and his own child who died tragically. He visits old friends, his estranged family, and wrestles with deep regret and existential dread.

Ironweed is not for the faint hearted but if you want to see two amazing actors at the top of their game sitting through the dark stuff is a small price to pay.

Speaking of “price to pay” Ironweed is available on Pluto TV (whatever that is) or for less than $4 on multiple streaming sites.