Review of August: Osage County (2013) by Jim H — 03 Mar 2014

A daughter returns home to find her father presumed dead, her mother's pill addiction worsening, and various other secrets, agendas, and lies.

I think that people familiar with the play have a different reaction than those who have only seen the film. I read the play and noticed cuts to the script that bleed like a flood, and the characters' interaction seems "smushed," not organic. But that doesn't mean that August: Osage County is a bad film. In fact, it's genuinely compelling. Meryl Streep is once again remarkable, inhabiting Violet unselfconsciously, and her act two monologue is so raw and emotional that I almost sided with her character -- almost. Julia Roberts is fiercely fabulous as well, delivering a powerhouse fuck you to Streep's domineering screen presence. I like it when I get to watch two actors challenge the other, especially established talents like Streep and Roberts. Scenes with those two almost reminded me of Paul Dano and Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood; as good as Day-Lewis was in that film, Dano made him better. The supporting performances are highlighted by Chris Cooper whose "be nice" monologue seemed out-of-place, but it wasn't due to his delivery.

Overall, this is an acting master class, but the script suffers because it underestimates its audience's patience.