I nominate screenwriter and playwright Tracy Letts’s family in August: Osage County (2013) as the most dysfunctional on film. Meryl Streep plays Violet, a troubled woman dying of cancer and who is popping painkilling pills like they were Tic-Tacs. One of Violet’s daughters, Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) is harboring a Secret. Violet’s husband (Sam Shepard) hires a Native-American woman (Misty Upham) to cook and clean their house and then he “goes fishing.” Violet’s rebellious daughter, Barbara (Julia Roberts), arrives with her soon to be ex-husband (Ewan McGregor) and her sullen teenage daughter (Abigail Breslin). Violet’s “baby” daughter, Karen (Juliette Lewis), has her new “fiancé” Dermot Mulroney) in tow. As if this weren’t enough of a combustable mix, there’s Violet’s sister, Mattie Fae (Margo Martindale) who has nothing but distaste for her son, Little Charles (Benedict Cumberbatch), and love for her husband (Chris Cooper). The family dinner scene where Violet attacks everyone rockets up the Horrific Scale. You won’t see a more stark and nasty example of verbal abuse. Although unpleasant, August: Osage County packs a punch with its outstanding cast. GRADE: B (for brutal)
Tracy Letts won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play August: Osage County.
Never saw this. Good cast. Tracy Letts is also a fine actor who was recently in Ladybird and the series Homeland.
Steve, I’ve ordered all of Tracy Letts’s plays from the Library. I’m impressed with his intensity as an actor and a playwright!
Frankly, despite the great cast, this did NOT work for me anywhere near as good as the amazing on stage production. The multi-story house alone (TOny for Best Scenic Design) was a wonder. Deanna Dunagan deservedly won a Tony as Violet, beating out the almost equally deserving Amy Morton as daughter Barbara. Rondi Reed won for her supporting performance as Mattie Fae (Margo Martindale was a bright spot in the film), and others in the cast were Jeff Perry, Dennis Letts (the author’s father) as the missing husband, and Brian Kerwin. It won Tonys for Best Play and Best Direction as well, of course. It was raw and intense, but for me it worked much better than the film.
Jeff, I’m not sure I could sit through a play version of AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY. I barely made it through the movie. I was completely drained by the experience!
As well, not as good. I need to proofread.
I saw this one several years ago, so details are long gone, but I’d agree with your grade. Great acting all around. Brutal as it is, it’s surprisingly funny in spots.
Once you saw it on stage, this was ruined. Amazing production with Estelle Parsons flitting around like a 25 year old.
Patti, I found the intensity of AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY incredible. I’m not sure my heart could withstand a play version.
We saw Parsons a couple of years ago totally carrying a play, Israel Horovitz’s OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES, in the Village at the Cherry Lane Theater The woman is amazing at 90. (She was 88 then.) The play wasn’t much, but Parsons and co-star Judith Ivey (always a favorite) were great.
Jeff, I’ve found that great performers and great performances can lift the most mundane material to a higher plane.
First the Smirking Dwarf, now Streep the Creep! When are you going to watch movies with people in them I like? I know it’s a short list, but it’s possible! ;0
Bob, I’ll reviewing a movie next week I know you’ll like!