The Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning stage play “August:
Osage County” seems like it should be the ultimate Oscar movie. It has an all-star
cast, over-the-top scenery chewing performances, and the power of the Weinstein
Company behind it. And it’s good. But you know what? It’s dark. It’s really
dark. It’s basically a black comedy and I can’t imagine this thing being very
popular with an average movie-going audience. I sort of feel bad for the
uninformed old women who go into this expecting a “Steel Magnolias” tale about Southern
family dysfunction. Having said all that
I really enjoyed the film, a minor nitpick here and there, but it’s a solid
effort that includes a stellar ensemble truly giving their all.
Meryl Streep is Violet the pill-popping matriarch of the
Weston family in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma. Her husband has disappeared
and some family comes over to comfort her. Violet is suffering from mouth
cancer and wears fancy black wigs to cover up her withered, cancer-stricken
hair. Did I mention she pops pills? A lot. And she acts crazy sometimes. She
appears to be trying to out-act Ellen Burstyn in “Requiem for a Dream.” Her
only daughter who still lives in the area Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) shows up, where the single
woman is mocked by her mother for not being in a relationship – or at least one
her mother doesn’t know about. Then daughter Barbara (Julia Roberts) shows up
with her husband (Ewan McGregor) and daughter (Abigail Breslin). Her marriage
is on the rocks. Violet’s third daughter played by Juliet Lewis flies in from
Florida with her new fiancé in tow (Dermot Mulroney). Violet’s loud mouth
sister Mattie Fae (Margo Martindale) also comes over with her husband who’s
played by Chris Cooper. Their misfit grown up son is played by Benedict
Cumberbatch. There’s also a Native American woman around who was recently hired
by Violet’s husband before he disappeared. Violet keeps calling her an “injun.”
Have the fun of discussing what goes on in this film would
spoil all of the various plot elements and character reveals and that’s just no
fun for someone who hasn’t seen the film. Let’s just say that while the family
is coping with what ends up turning into tragedy, lots of dirty laundry begins
to be aired out. Fights and arguments ensue, insults are thrown. And most of
this is actually funny because you sit there and think “And I thought my family had problems!”
A movie like this
only works because of two things: one is the script from Tracy Letts who wrote
the original play. He has a habit of writing darkly comic dramas about really messed
up people (see, “Killer Joe” and the even weirder thriller “Bug”). It’s a tight
script filled with lots of dialogue and monologues. And the actors are all very
good. And best of all they have great chemistry with each other. They really
feel like an extended family. And you really get a sense of peering into a
family at time of grief. It just may be too much for some to handle as it goes
into unexpected areas. It keeps things fresh and interesting. After all, the
original source material is a play and there’s basically only one setting.
Director John Wells does a good job making it cinematic without ever overdoing
it. This is a simple story with complex characters and lets the actors do their
jobs.
“August: Osage County” is a very well-done movie. If
anything my only real complain, or make that an observation, is the slight
sense of overacting a bit here and there. Ms. Streep, one of our finest living
actresses almost overdoes it a few times. Anyone who thought her great
performance as Margaret Thatcher was over-the-top will most likely look at her aghast
in this film. But you know what? Her character is a pretty crazy. She’s weird,
she’s mean, she’s outlandish. It makes sense. I have little to complain about
here otherwise this feeling sort of like the Oscar-bait I’m sure most of the
actors expected. There’s nothing particularly
wrong with that as every movie shouldn’t be judged based solely because the
film seemed to have been made to win awards. And these days they usually don’t
anyways. Go see “August: Osage County” for its great cast and darkly comedic
story. This is a pretty heavy drama with unexpected twists. I pretty much dug
it. GRADE: B+
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