“Life is very long.” These words from T.S. Eliot open August: Osage County, a film that looks at the impact one person’s decisions can have, like ripples in a pond, on several generations of a family in different stages of those long lives.
August: Osage County is the story the Weston family — a family that is the very definition of dysfunctional. The patriarch, Beverly, is an alcoholic and former award-winning poet; his wife, Violet, is dealing with cancer and has become addicted to pills that severely affect her mind; and their three daughters, Barbara, Ivy, and Karen, each lead complicated lives of their own. When tragedy strikes, the girls return home to face their mother’s addiction and madness.
The movie is based on the Tony Award-winning play of the same name by Tracy Letts, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. Editing and adapting a play of that caliber must be a challenge, but Letts (whom you may recognize) did an excellent job trimming his three-hour script into a two-hour film while maintaining all the integrity and dark humor of the original text. Director John Wells closely follows Letts’ dialogue and even some of the original staging, though unlike the play, the entire film does not take place in the Weston home.
The success of both the play and the film depends entirely on the performances of the actresses playing the roles of Violet and Barbara Weston. In this case, the producers found two of Hollywood’s best, who are always up for any challenge.
Violet’s mood swings are unpredictable, an endless emotional roller coaster. Meryl Streep masterfully portrays the many highs and lows of the venomous Weston matriarch in a performance deserving of her latest Oscar nomination. Suffering from cancer in her mouth, Violet is dependent upon multiple pill prescriptions that have clearly addled her mind. In her drugged state, Violet often lashes out against her family in bitterness for the long and hard life she has endured.
Julia Roberts, nominated for an Oscar in the supporting actress category, proves she is more than able to hold her own opposite Streep with an equally emotional performance as Barbara. The oldest Weston daughter is dealing not just with her father’s disappearance and her mother’s addiction, but with a dissolving marriage and a rebellious daughter of her own. Barbara also has to come to terms with her fear that she will travel the same road to bitterness and addiction as her mother. That struggle is quiet and unspoken for much of the movie, but it bubbles to the surface and is illustrated well near the end of the film.
The rest of the cast is rounded out with many recognizable faces and names, and each actor plays his or her role extremely well. Margo Martindale and Chris Cooper are terrific as Violet’s sister and brother-in-law. Martindale had been underappreciated for years, until her fantastic performance in FX’s Justified, and Chris Cooper almost always quietly steals any scene in which he appears.
Ewan McGregor does a fine job as Barbara’s husband who, despite their separation, remains supportive. However, McGregor’s performance is often overshadowed by the strong performances of the females around him. The same is true for Dermot Mulroney: his character is textbook sleaze, but the performance itself is almost negligible in a film filled with so many heavy-hitters. Americans are most familiar with Benedict Cumberbatch as the overly confident Sherlock, or the manipulative Commander John Harrison / Khan, but he performs well here as the meek and downtrodden Little Charles, Violet’s nephew.
August: Osage County is almost entirely character-driven. However, those characters are so compelling, and the acting so strong, that it is easy to overlook how little action the film contains. The plot does have several twists and surprises along the way to move the story to its conclusion. The original play is clearly Violet’s story, but changes to the ending of the film version shift the focus onto Barbara and give the narrative a new light. While that ending may not provide as much closure as some would like, it is more hopeful than the original play.
August: Osage County is a well-acted, strongly written movie that certainly lived up to my expectations. If you’re a fan of Letts or of intense, sometimes grim, family dramas, this is definitely a must-see. Letts’ writing does a great job of balancing the serious moments with dark humor and levity. But keep in mind that, despite being billed as a comedy by some media outlets, August: Osage County turns the lens on the reality that “life is very long” indeed.
And, if nothing else, the film will leave you feeling a little better about your own family.