August: Osage County (DVD REVIEW)
August: Osage
County
DVD Review
by Kam Williams
Streep Performance Saves An Overplotted, Feel-Bad Flick
In 2008, August:
Osage County not only won a Pulitzer Prize,
but it also took home a quintet of Tony Awards, including Best Play. However,
the screen version of Tracy Letts’ haunting tale about a dysfunctional Oklahoma family was less
well-received, given the tawdry tale’s relentlessly-morose plot.
That being
said, the picture nevertheless does boast a very impressive, stellar cast
headed by Meryl Streep, even if in service of a kitchen sink soap opera. She
turns in another Oscar-quality performance as Violet, the substance-abusing,
cancer-stricken matriarch of the Weston clan.
The film
revolves around the return home of that downer of a character’s three daughters
in the wake their suicidal father’s (Sam Shepard) sudden disappearance. As the
action unfolds, we find each of her offspring involved in a relationship more
bizarre than the next.
Eldest
Barbara (Julia Roberts) arrives from Colorado
escorted by her estranged husband, Bill (Ewan McGregor), even though the
philandering college professor is dating one of his students. Along for the
ride is their 14 year-old daughter, Jean (Abigail Breslin), a sullen stoner
ostensibly upset about the state of her parents’ disintegrating marriage.
Youngest
sister Karen (Juliette Lewis) shows up with her creepy fiancé, Steve (Dermot
Mulroney), a successful businessman whose money has her deep in denial (until
he hits on her niece) about his being a pedophile. Meanwhile, middle child
Ivy’s (Julianne Nicholson) issue is the incestuous affair she’s carrying on
with her first cousin, Charlie, Jr. (Benedict Cumberbatch).
Then
there’s Violet’s sister/Charlie’s mom, Mattie Fae (Margo Martindale), a shrew
who openly abuses both her son and hubby, Charlie, Sr. (Chris Cooper). She’s
has a humdinger of a skeleton hidden in her closet just waiting to trump
everybody else’s shocking developments.
A movie
featuring so many sensational storylines certainly lends itself to melodrama,
which is what August: Osage
County proceeds to serve
up in spades. Thus, the film frequently feels more like an adaptation of a
dime-store romance novel than of an award-winning Broadway production.
An
overplotted, feel-bad flick saved by a host of compelling performances, most
notably those of Meryl Streep and Margo Martindale.
Very Good
(3 stars)
Rated R
for profanity, sexual references and drug use
Running time: 119 minutes
Distributor: Anchor Bay
Entertainment / The Weinstein Company
DVD Extras: Deleted scenes; commentary with the director and
cinematographer; The Making of August: Osage County;
and On Writing with Tracy Letts featurette.
To order a copy of August:
Osage County on DVD, visit:
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