This film is the very definition of schadenfreude-- taking pleasure from the pain of others. Not one single person in August: Osage County has something good and healthy going for them. Every member of the family is either a sniveling little brat, an egocentric southern prick, a know-it-all, a self-destructive hate monger, etc. The list goes on and on. You'd think by sitting through two full hours of arguing and negativity you'd leave with a bad taste in your mouth and the surprising thing is-- you don't. Putting aside the amazing performances by two stellar actresses, Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, it's difficult to watch this family's lives swirl ever so swiftly down the drain of life. Yet, it's also quite enjoyable as well.
When Weston family patriarch Beverly (Sam Shepard) goes missing, pill-popping, verbally abusive matriarch Violet (Streep) calls in the family for help and support. The first to arrive are Violet's sister Mattie Fae, her husband Charlie (Chris Cooper) and their son, Little Charles (Benedict Cumberbatch). Next, comes Violet's daughter Barbara (Roberts), her now separated husband Bill (Ewan McGregor), and their daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin). Violet's daughter, Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) is the only daughter not to have left Oklahoma arrives. And finally, Violet's last daughter Karen (Juliette Lewis) arrives with her new fiance Steve (Dermot Mulroney). Strong personalities clash as the family engages in fight after fight after fight with their hateful and mean spirited mother. Violet and Barbara butt heads the most because Barbara is slowly starting to realize that she is, in fact, her mother. She's slowly turned into the one thing on the planet she hates. Barbara and Violet both butt heads with Karen as she's aloof to the entire situation, flaunting around a new beau in the midst of a family tragedy. Barbara and Bill butt heads as they've separated on their way to divorce because of Bill's past infidelity-- but it isn't surprising considering the kind of hatefulness Barbara exudes. Mattie Fae butts heads with Violet and Charles and Little Charles because she's a snappy little busy body with a comment about everything. Over the course of a few days the family slowly but surely realizes that they all hate each other, and that their hate breeds more hate.
This is why everyone, minus Ivy, has left Violet. They've all taken their escape from the house that hate built to start anew. And over the course of the visit they each manage to one-by-one make their escapes again. Finally, it ends just as it began: Violet and old, spite-filled curmudgeon all alone and Barbara wondering if she's fully turned into her own mother or if there's still any hope left for her. The answer remains a mystery. The movie is written by Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts, who also penned the play the film is based on. He's known for two other films: Killer Joe and Bug, which if you've seen either, you know that this is not a happy, take the whole family to the movies kind of film. It's also directed by John Wells, one of the creators of the Showtime series Shameless, which if you've seen even five minutes of that show should be an indication of what kind of film you're about to see.
The performances are off the charts, however. It's one powerhouse performance after another. Because it's based off a stage play, it is very dialogue heavy and when two of these actors enter the same scene together, there's nothing but magic happening. Meryl Streep, unarguably the greatest actress of all time, plays Violet as a disgustingly hateful woman, but one that you can't help but pity. You'll watch her ostracize everyone in her family, yet sit back and feel bad for her instead of entirely loathe her. Julia Roberts, an actress I'm not particularly fond of, kills it! She's just as bad as Violet, yet illicits the same reaction from the audience, probably even more filled with pity. You can tell she's this way because of how her mother has treated her all her life. She doesn't want to be her mother but the harder she struggles against it, the more like her she becomes.
The film can get a slight repetitive with fight after fight after argument after argument, but that's where writer Letts gives us our glimmer of hope in the family with Chris Cooper's Charlie. The man is the complete antithesis of Violet. He's kind, he's caring, he's all about second chances and he despises it when he has to sit back and watch his family (one he's not even related to by blood) tear themselves apart from the inside out. He's the one shining light in the black hole that is the Weston family.
If you have difficulty watching films where most of the characters are generally unlikable, then it may be hard for you to connect with any part of August: Osage County. If nothing else, it's a great film for actors to watch in order to see acting perfection on screen. This kind of cast doesn't culminate into film very often, but when something like this comes along, it's truly a delight to watch.
B+
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