Watch August: Osage County For Free

Simply A Masterpiece

good film but with many flaws

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

A play. inspiring a real good script. and great cast. tension. a family crisis and the different faces of truth. not the last, a trip across great playwriters work. because it reminds Shakkespeare and Tchekov and Tennesee Williams, the American fields and the force of acting from an unique cast. because it seems be a version of King Lear and one of versions of Uncle Vanya. but, sure, it is more. a film about deep solitude and refuges. about freedom. and about choices. about selfishness and appearences. and about the family. as axis of storms, secrets and hard words. so, an impressive film. seductive for traces of well known plays. and for fine art to recreate a world so familiar.

Three generations of a very estranged family gather together for the patriarch's funeral, which if I were a member of, would probably skip without apologies or an explanation. Don't let the surface friendliness of the characters in this clan fool you. They are all completely nuts.Matriarch Meryl Street makes Violet's Voice, which is basically pill addiction, and only mourning her husband for a minute before going on the attack. She's basically run daughter Julia Roberts off (by Robert's obvious choice), and it is ultra difficult for Roberts to return. The funeral is followed by a memorial dinner that makes a visit with George and Martha a day at the beach. The always powerful Streep adds another classic portrayal to her dozens of magnificent roles. Violet is a woman filled with anger and bitterness towards her three children, and it's obviously isn't grief talking. Secrets are revealed, old hurts are raised, yet biscuits with gravy are consumed without one being thrown.Among the others in this amazing ensemble are Margo Martindale as Streep's loyal but sometimes bluntly obnoxious sister, Chuck Cooper as her quietly suffering husband, and Juliette Lewis as the wild, party girl baby in the family. All eyes are on Streep however, as it was for me on Broadway when I saw Estelle Parsons in the role. Smartly edited by over an hour, this may not have been as fast moving as the play was. Tracy Letts wrote the best drama we've seen on stage in decades, and as my tagline says, Outstanding theater may make you weep. The movie may not have had the same effect, but I never was bored, that's for sure.

August-Osage County is about a large family from Oklahoma who, following a family crisis, return to the house where they were raised and to the dysfunctional matriarch who raised them.It was adapted from a stage play, (and it shows) and is an acting 'tour de force' from what undoubtedly is an 'A' list ensemble.I have never been a particular fan of Meryl Streep, as in my opinion, just about everything she has starred in since the fabulous Deer Hunter back in 1978 has been played 'over the top'.I can never divorce myself from the idea that here is a very talented actress, cleverly acting her heart out, with spot-on accents and all the mannerisms and histrionics that may be required, but in doing so, she somehow fails to get into the skin of the character she is supposed to be portraying and to make her a 'real' person.But I really did like her in August-Osage county – in my view one of her best ever performances and utterly believable. I also very much liked Julia Roberts in this movie who was nominated for best supporting actress Oscar. Roberts' role in August-Osage County has far more depth and range to it and is far more deserving of an Oscar than her role in Erin Brockovich. (For which she won best actress Oscar).I actually quite enjoyed August-Osage – it is full of drama, black humour and some fascinating twists and turns; but if you are looking for murder, mayhem and fast-flowing action then this definitely is not the movie for you.

Great acting as I would expect from this cast. You know that when the character is so unlikable but then you remember other characters played by the actor or actress that were so different yet played so well. All that said, this is an awful movie to watch. The only sympathetic characters were Ivy, her father and her brother. Sitting through the screaming, the profanity, the constant smoking, the characters' lack of manners, the sadness.. It's two hours of my time that could have been spent better on just about anything. Honestly, this movie was a couple steps removed from the presence of dueling banjos and I hated most of it.