Review of August: Osage County (2013) by Orlando O — 13 Apr 2014

August: Osage County is a dramatic film with an outstanding casts ensemble that just give remarkable performances.

An alcoholic poet Beverly (Sam Shepard) hires a caregiver Johnna (Misty Upham) to watch over his ill suffering wife Violet (Meryl Streep). He disappears and Violet is concerned and calls her daughters and sisters to support her. Violets sister Mattie (Margo Martindale) and her husband Charles (Chris Cooper) arrive. As her youngest daughter Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) who is the only living close in the area. While the older daughters Barbara (Julia Roberts) and her husband Bill (Ewan McGregor) and their teen daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin) show up. Violets other daughter Karen (Juliette Lewis) arrives with her new shady boyfriend Huberbrecht (Dermot Mulroney). And Charles awkward, and distant son Little Charles (Benedict Cumberbatch) shows up late. As the families reunite for support, conflicts, secrets and lies start unraveling that can separate them forever.

August is based on a play by Tracy Letts, and who also wrote the script and handled it pretty well. It is a story about a dysfunctional family that cannot tolerate each other. Every character had their own view and perspective all while being hashed at by Violet. The conflict with the family is all real world issues involving affairs, greed, love, and grief. While not every character react to each other nicely. It is a movie that is filled with an alcoholic, drug addict Violet judging and criticizing each of her individual family members. John Wells did a perfect job adapting that on screen. Not everyone is going to be likable or easy to sympathize with while focusing on a family being torn apart by lies and secrets.

Meryl Streep did an excellent job and her character is the most unlikeable person to be on the screen. But it was very engaging to see her performance and comparing to others that did a fantastic job like Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale and Julianne Nicholson.

August: Osage County is an entertaining drama piece, with a large ensemble casts that made it work.