Movie Review: August: Osage County

By Zachary Tang

August: Osage County

Comedy/Drama [NC16]
Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Benedict Cumberbatch
121 min

(3.5 out of 5 stars)

With Oscar season drawing near and big names such as The Wolf of Wall Street and 12 Years a Slave dominating the conversation, a complicated family drama like August: Osage County is likely to go unnoticed.

But this wickedly humorous film has received two Oscar Nominations for Best Actress (Meryl Streep) and Best Supporting Actress (Julia Roberts). These nominations come well-deserved — fans can look forward to the skillful portrayal of tense, confrontational interactions between these film veterans.

Streep plays Violet, a malicious, drug-addled woman who calls her family back home to rural Oklahoma for the funeral of her husband, Beverly (Sam Shepard). As the family members arrive in succession on a scorching hot day, we witness the catastrophic gathering of relatives who have been out of touch for far too long.

Based on a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning screenplay of the same name, it comes as no surprise that theatrically-heated arguments play a major role in this film adaptation. Although Violet is the one spearheading most of the melodrama with her venomous, bullet-laden diatribes, the rest of the family also have troubles of their own.

Her three daughters, Barbara, Karen and Ivy (played by Roberts, Juliette Lewis and Julianne Nicholson respectively) all come with heavy emotional baggage and react to their mother’s verbal abuse with starkly different responses. Barbara retaliates lethally, Karen appears shell-shocked and Ivy is simply indifferent.

The rest of the family is just as dysfunctional. Violet’s sister Mattie Faye (Margo Martindale) treats her insecure manchild of a son, Little Charlie (Benedict Cumberbatch) with a great air of condescension although her husband Charlie (Chris Cooper) adores and spoils him. Added to the bizarre mix are Barbara’s soon-to-be ex-husband Bill (Ewan McGregor) and her marijuana-smoking 14-year-old daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin). Karen’s sleazy fling, Steve (Dermot Mulroney), rounds up the family.

The most memorable scenes are played out at the claustrophobic dinner-table, where everyone sits uncomfortably close together. The men (who are relatively docile) are on edge, waiting for the next volatile woman to combust.The interplay between the characters reveal sad truths and horrifying realisations, making for scenes that are sometimes hilarious and at other times, agonising.

But it isn’t all just spite and conflict in this film. There are quiet and poignant moments inserted between the animosities that offer much-needed respite. One of these occur when Violet sits on a swing by her three daughters, vitriol cast aside for once, and tells a story about her damaged childhood that reflects the repercussions that one generation has on another.

Family dramas like these drive home the point that deep-rooted resentment can turn us into vicious and lonely creatures. August: Osage County is a reminder that the ones closest to our hearts — the ones bound by blood — can be the ones hurting us the most.