 In 2015 , Streep starred in Jonathan Demme 's Ricki and the Flash , playing a grocery store checkout worker by day who is a rock musician at night , and who has one last chance to reconnect with her estranged family . Streep learned to play the guitar for the semi @-@ autobiographical dramedy film , which reunited her with her eldest daughter Mamie Gummer . Reviews of the film were generally mixed . Streep 's other film of the year was director Sarah Gavron 's period drama Suffragette , co @-@ starring Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter . In the film , she played the small but pivotal role of Emmeline Pankhurst , a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement who helped women win the right to vote . The film received mostly positive reviews , particularly for the performances of the cast , though its distributor earned criticism that Streep 's prominent position within the marketing was misleading . 
