As this year seems to be the year for sharp-tongued females, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts give June Squibb (“Nebraska”) and Jennifer Lawrence (“American Hustle”) a run for their money in this dark drama.
A tragedy brings a dysfunctional family back together only to confirm for them just how spiteful they are to each other especially in the way that their mother, Violet (Streep), treats them.
As it is her 18th Oscar nomination, it comes as no surprise that Streep holds a fantastic performance in her role as the sickly, but despicable and extremely vocal matriarch. With a cigarette in one hand and pills in the other, she spits out what she feels is the truth while reminding each family member of her ability to see and know everything happening behind the scenes. There is a kind of silent pride (not in her ‘gifts’ as she’s very vocal about this), but in how hurtful her words can be. Although poisonous, her personality fits very well into our self-destructing family. It’s clear that the direction in which each sister has chosen to take is the result of their upbringing. Streep makes such a dark, dramatic role look like a piece of cake to portray. It’s almost unfair. Almost.
As ‘August: Osage County’ is a film that focuses primarily on family, the eldest daughter, Barbara (Julia Roberts) is the one who is affected the most. On the brink of divorce, she starts to piece together why her mother is particularly crude (as it’s implied that she’s gotten worse) while the audience slowly pieces together her true character. Barbara is driven to her wits end and uses her rather harsh words to either try to protect her sisters (who, ironically, she’s distanced herself from) and/or discover the truth about her mother’s lifestyle and plans that could further damage her family. At one point, Barbara goes so far as to shout, “I’m in charge now!” In this moment, she is, in fact, a force to be reckoned with and a shift in roles occurs right before our eyes. It’s also evidence to the audience that Roberts, not unlike Streep who is an experienced actress, can hold her own against a woman who’s constantly being dubbed as the best actress in the industry today. Roberts steals this scene (and others after it) that could win her a Best Actress awards this year.
In the dialogue alone, ‘August: Osage County’ can be painful to watch, which only confirms just how brilliant the lead actresses and the casting directors are. ‘August: Osage County’ also contains one of the better endings to a film (in comparison to the Oscar-Nominated films) leaving us with a kind of bittersweet closure that is wholly appropriate to this drama.
As expected with most dramas, ‘August: Osage County’ is dialogue heavy, so the focus is on acting, which is done well here by its cast. Unfortunately, the first act feels like the intermission to the actual film. While it’s necessary to establish characters and set up the premise, this part goes on for a bit too long. Audiences must play the wanting game to get to the point of the movie. Two-thirds of the movie—when we’re not waiting for something to happen—‘August: Osage County’ centers on the flawed relationships between mother and daughters and the affects of those relationships with Barbara’s story being in the forefront. Just before the reveal about the middle daughter, Ivy (Julianne Nicholson), the plot loses its focus in a scene involving Barbara’s daughter, Jean (Abigail Breslin) that isn’t quite out of left field, but adds nothing more to the story than to further justify reasons to be free of Violet’s hold on her daughters.
‘August: Osage County’, much like ‘Out of the Furnace’, is a film that holds incredible talent, but lacks the strength in script to truly make it one of this year’s best.
Jim’s Rating: 7.3/10