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August: Osage County (2013)
Misery loves
family.
Director:
John Wells, Rated R for language
  Starring:
Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper,
Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo
Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard,
Misty Upham
DML Rating:
★★★★★★★★☆☆
- great
"You're thoughtful,
Barbara, but you're not open. You're passionate, but you're
hard. You're a good, decent, funny, wonderful woman, and I love
you, but - YOU'RE A PAIN IN THE ASS!"
- Bill Fordham
Why watch this?
Streep is a force, and this film shows why.
Plot Summary:
Following a sudden family crisis, three estranged sisters return
to their rural Oklahoma childhood home during a sweltering
summer to support their unstable mother. The sharp-tongued,
drug-addicted matriarch relies on abrasive confrontations and
bitter observations, quickly creating a toxic environment for
her visiting children and extended relatives. Trapped together
under one roof, the family members clash violently as
long-buried secrets, infidelities, and deep-seated resentments
gradually come to light.
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Dad's Preview:
Most of us have some form of family dysfunction. This
drama, adapted from the play by Tracy Letts, tackles the
devastating wasteland created by a narcissistic
matriarch. Meryl Streep coughs life into Violet Weston,
a raging drug addict, who feels it is her personal
privilege to drag everyone into the mental hell she has
created. I was reminded of Bette Davis' devilish role in
Little Foxes (1941). At times, we feel pity for
her and her many ailments (which requires bottles of
over-prescribed "medications"). Then she lambasts her
nearest victim, under the auspice of "I'm just being
honest." This all-star, ensemble cast is excellent, as
is the plot itself. It's a film about weathering the
storm that is your own family, then conjuring up the
courage to leave when it becomes too much to endure. |
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John
Doumanian Prod., Smoke House Pics, Battle
Mountain Films, Yucaipa Films; The Weinstein Co.
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