Release Date: December 25, 2013
Director: John Wells
MPAA Rating: R
Film Pulse Score: 7.5/10
What defines a family? The fact that you’re related by blood? The unconditional love? The unwavering support? Knowing that they’ll always have your back? What if you’ve grown apart and seldom ever see each other, are you still a family? Not every family is perfect and one can consider them blessed if they have one that personifies the ideal family unit. We all have our secrets. There’s always the black sheep. Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play looks at one family and the drama that unfolds in the sweltering heat of the Midwest. Director John Wells and Letts bring the play to the big screen in this sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and frequently mean-spirited family drama that will make you thankful your family is nowhere near as bad as the Westons.
When renowned author and poet Beverly Weston goes missing his children return home to lend support to their mother, Violet. What starts as a seemingly cordial and supportive gathering grows bitter and resentful when the news turns grim and the entire family comes home. The Weston women, mother Violet and daughters Barbara, Karen and Ivy, soon find repressed feelings coming to a head that threaten to destroy this already dysfunctional family.
This film or even the play for that matter is the type of piece that one would likely go to see primarily for the acting. The story itself is rather mean and unflinching in its frankness that you may be left wondering why you wanted to see this in the first place. Not to say that the story isn’t engaging it’s just that the subject matter can be quite uncomfortable at times. The characters can be so cold sometimes. Meryl Streep delivers yet another award worthy performance as Violet, the family matriarch. There are moments where Streep disappears and all you see is Violet. Her range is all over the map and not one moment rings falsely. Julia Roberts holds her own as Beverly, the one daughter who seems to have the deepest resentment towards her mother. Juliette Lewis also gives a solid performance as Karen, the youngest in the bunch. Finally Julianne Nicholson is very good as Ivy, the one daughter who stayed behind. Theirs is a complex relationship that while often hurtful feels natural and real. The rest of the cast also feature Sam Shepard, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dermot Mulroney, Margo Martindale and Misty Upham. It’s a great ensemble.
Letts adapted his play for the screen and found he had to squeeze a three hour stage play into a two hour screenplay. It is a solid adaptation that takes full advantage of the wider canvas that the format provides and not to mention the actors who appear to perform it. John Wells makes a solid sophomore effort after his feature directorial debut with The Company Men. He doesn’t allow things to get over the top and even when it’s getting heated and uncomfortable he and Letts manage to find some humor in the proceedings. Most of the humor comes from the surprise of hearing what many of the characters say during some situations. It can be both funny and surprising.
August: Osage County is very much about the acting. If not for the performances most viewers may have already tuned out not for a lack of interest but because they don’t care about the characters. The members of the Weston family are broken and they seem to poison anything they touch. Thanks to the acting you want to stay with it until the end. It is well written and directed but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, see this one for the acting. You won’t be disappointed.
