August: Osage County

A cast of big names brings Tracy Letts' prize-winning play August: Osage County to the big screen. The end result is like watching the play on screen. For better and worse.

Beverly Weston (Sam Shepard) used to be a well respected poet. His career long in decline, Beverly's taken to the bottle. He opens the story by interviewing a live-in nanny, Johnna (Misty Upham). Almost immediately, he jumps in a lake and drowns. His wife, Violet (Meryl Streep), is supposed to bring the family together in this time of need. But she's suffering from cancer of the mouth and is utterly insane and bitter with the world.

Some of the other family members aren't better.

Eldest daughter Barbara (Julia Roberts) tries to bring the family together. But her sinking ship of a marriage makes her just as bitter as her mother. Violet's sister Mattie Fae (Margo Martindale) seems like a nice woman. But she's uncharacteristically harsh towards her son, "Little Charles" (Benedict Cumberbatch) for reasons later explained. Middle daughter Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) plans to elope with Little Charles. And youngest daughter Karen (Juliette Lewis) has a fiancé, Steve (Dermot Mulroney), who has designs on Barbara's daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin).

(Excuse me while I catch my breath.)

The secret word of the day is "BLUNT." That word describes director John Wells' rendition of the play, whose screenplay was written by Letts himself. When people get yell, they REALLY YELL. When they're sad, they're REALLY SAD. And when Meryl Streep, as Violet, acts insane, she's REALLY INSANE. It's like the play itself was performed right next to the screen. Not on the screen. Next to it.

It's been described as a Dark Comedy. But the presentation makes it just too dark to be darkly funny. I was just wondering many times what was supposed to be funny. The only thing I honestly laughed at was the climactic lunch scene, if only because it was overacted kind of stupid.

The only saving grace was Chris Cooper as Charles Sr., the nicest and sanest man in the movie. At first, he lacks the power to stop his wife's treatment of his son. But when he gets it, he rightfully calls her out on it. His performance was the best because it was the quietest of the movie.

Is this a work that only works on stage? No. I think this work should have been executed better on film. If it was, August: Osage County would have been a great family dramedy. Oh well.