 Mike Nichols , who directed Streep in Silkwood , Heartburn and Postcards from the Edge , praised Streep 's ability to transform herself into her characters , remarking that " in every role she becomes a totally new human being . As she becomes the person she is portraying , the other performers begin to react to her as if she were that person " . He said that directing her is " so much like falling in love that it has the characteristics of a time which you remember as magical but which is shrouded in mystery " . He also noted that Streep 's acting ability had a profound impact on her co @-@ stars and that " one could improve by 1000 % purely by watching her . " Longworth believes that in nearly every film , Streep has " sly infused " a feminist point of view in her portrayals . However , film critic Molly Haskell has stated , " None of her heroines are feminist , strictly speaking . Yet they uncannily embody various <unk> of experience in the last twenty years , as women have redefined themselves against the background of the women 's movement " . 
