Review of August: Osage County (2013) by Daniel D — 26 Sep 2014

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY.

Directed by: John Wells.

Written by: Tracy Letts.

Running Time: 2 hr. 10 mins.

Rated: R.

Anytime an award-winning play is adapted for the big screen, there is always a chance that it can disappoint. Luckily, Tracy Letts' (Killer Joe) August: Osage County is an absolute knockout for both the stage and the big screen. August: Osage County benefits from a multitude of factors: poignant direction from John Wells (The West Wing, The Company Men), a jaw-dropping script from Mr. Letts that evokes tears through humor and heartbreak, and lastly powerhouse performances from a superb cast led by the brilliant Meryl Streep and the riveting Julia Roberts. August: Osage County paints a beautiful, yet frightening, modern-day example of a dysfunctional family. After the disappearance of Beverly Weston (played with a confident ease by Sam Shepherd), the Weston family is thrown into a whirlwind of chaos: secrets are revealed, anger erupts, and lives are permanently damaged. One of the most fascinating aspects of August: Osage County is the cast itself. Throughout the movie, I found myself wanting to learn more about each one of these characters, especially Barbara Fordham (arguably a career-best from Julia Roberts) and Violet Weston (another award-winning performance from Meryl Streep). John Wells, Tracy Letts, and Academy Award-winning producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov (Argo) could not have assembled a better cast that includes: Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dermot Mulroney, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Julianne Nicholson, and Misty Upham. Despite such a stellar cast, it is truly Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts who steal the film. The shouting matches between these two breathtaking actresses will make you feel as if your family dinners resembled a sense of normalcy. It is rare to find a script about a dysfunctional family that really clicks, but this one does just that. This is the kind of movie where everyone can relate to at least one of the characters; we feel what they feel, we hope for what they hope, and we live through our struggles just as they live through theirs. The audience is taken on an emotional ride through the eyes of these characters, we see moments of genuine love and moments of devastating lows. It's these moments that make this film so powerful. Even though family knocks us down and irritates us to the point of great outrage, at the end of the day one thing remains the same: family builds us back up. Mr. Letts shows us that we may not always like, or approve of, certain family members' actions, but they remain family and even though we don't have to always like them, we have to love them. It's in our DNA. August: Osage County is a film with heart and remarkable performances that evokes emotion and makes us remember why we love going to the movies.