by Diana Crandall
August: Osage County is brimming with stunning performances, venomous dialogue, and raw insight into a family shattered by narcotics, alcoholism, and a darkened past.
Based on the play by Tracy Letts, the film adaptation showcases a star-studded cast with unforgettable performances from Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. Directed by John Wells, best known in his role as executive producer for hit TV shows such as ER, Third Watch, and The West Wing, August captivates its audience for its full two and a half hours.
When Beverly Weston (Sam Shepard) disappears, his family is forced together after a several year hiatus in their family home outside of Pawhuska, OK. An unusually hot August does nothing to ease tension between a pill-popping Violet Weston (Meryl Streep) and her three estranged daughters (Julia Roberts, Margo Martindale, and Julianne Nicholson). The film deviates from the traditional Hollywood narrative, and instead is focused as a drama highlighting family dysfunction at its ugliest.
Meryl Streep masters her character, a poison-spitting matriarch who is abrasive at best and devastating at worst. Julia Roberts’ performance is equally compelling, leaving the audience gaping in equal parts horror, revulsion, and fascination at the interaction between the two.
The supporting cast is supreme, with uniform talent portrayed on screen. Alongside Streep and Roberts, the cast includes favorites such as Ewan McGregor, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Chris Cooper.
Currently playing at the Drexel, August, though emotionally draining and hard to stomach, is a film that must not be missed.
dcrandall@capital.edu
