Un été à Osage County

"August: Osage County" was adapted by its own playwright Terry Letts into a screenplay. I have not seen the play yet, but am looking forward to seeing one in a few months from now. The standard set by the ensemble of actors in this film will be so hard to top.

This play is set in an Oklahoma town on one warm summer. Violet Wetson (Meryl Streep) reunites with her three willful daughters, Barbara (Julia Roberts), Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) and Karen (Juliette Lewis) when there was a death in the family. Fireworks fly when family secrets are revealed as mother and daughters clash.

Meryl Streep is again in top form here as a dysfunctional wife and mother made worse by her dependency on drugs given for her cancer. This role has Oscar written all over it, and Ms. Streep again grabs this bull by the horns. She is one scary virago here, one you would not want to meet in real life. To even imagine someone like her to be your mother is unthinkable.

Julia Roberts plays the eldest daughter Barbara with restraint until that post-funeral lunch when her top blows up and all hell breaks loose. We see a mature and gritty Julia here, going full circle from her first Oscar nomination with another family-oriented play turned film "Steel Magnolias." Ewan McGregor plays her husband Bill who loves her but can't stand her. Abigail Breslin plays her 14-year old daughter Jean, who is trying to grow up faster than she should.

Juliette Lewis plays another quirky and flighty character here. It seems only these types of roles fit her unusually unique face. Her Karen brings home a much-older fiancé Steve (Dermot Mulroney) with fast sports car and stash of pot.

Julianne Nicholson plays the daughter who stayed home to take care of her parents, Ivy. It seems she has been around for a long time, but this is the first film that I have taken notice of her. Her character has secret dreams and desires that could not take off because she is trapped in her situation in life, and Nicholson portrays that pain and frustration very well.

We will also meet Violet's fussy and nosy sister Mattie Fay, played by Margo Martindale. Her husband Charles is played by Chris Cooper, who is quietly dignified through most the film, until he had his own confrontation scene with his wife. Their son shy and insecure "Little" Charles is sensitively played by Benjamin Cumberbatch. This 2013 has really been a big debut year for Cumberbatch with diverse roles in big films like "Star Trek In Darkness", "12 Years a Slave", now this one.

This may not be for all because of the depressing family squabbling going on for two hours. However, I thought the dialogues were really darkly witty in their bitterness and spite. The main reason to watch this film though would be the masterclass in ensemble acting. Seeing all these actors interact together enhancing each other's performances is the big positive in watching a film like this.

Greetings again from the darkness. Tracy Letts had a very nice year in 2008. He won the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony for writing the play August: Osage County. Since then, he has also written the play and screenplay for Killer Joe, and been seen as an actor in the key role of a Senator in the TV show "Homeland". This time out, he adapts his own play for director John Wells' (The Company Men, TV's "ER") screen version of August: Osage County.

With an ensemble cast matched by very few movies over the years, the screen version begins with what may be its best scene. Weston family patriarch and published poet Beverly (the always great Sam Shepard) is interviewing Johnna for a position as cook and housekeeper when they are interrupted in stunning fashion by Violet (Meryl Streep), Beverly's acid-tongued wife who is showing the effects of chemotherapy and her prescription drug addiction. This extraordinary pre-credits scene sets the stage for the entire movie, which unfortunately only approaches this high standard a couple more times.

Despite the film's flaws, there is no denying the "train-wreck" effect of not being able to look away from this most dysfunctional family. Most of this is due to the screen presence of a steady stream of talented actors: in addition to Streep and Shephard, we get their 3 daughters played by Julia Roberts (Barbara), Julianne Nicholson (Ivy) and Juliette Lewis (Karen); Ewan McGregor and Abigail Breslin as Roberts' husband and daughter; Margo Martindale (Violet's sister), her husband Chris Cooper (Charles) and their son Benedict Cumberbatch.

As with most dysfunctional family movies, there is a dinner table scene ... this one occurring after a funeral. The resentment and regret and anger on display over casseroles is staggering, especially the incisive and "truth-telling" Violet comments and the defensive replies from Barbara. As time goes on, family secrets and stories unfold culminating in a whopper near the end. This is really the polar opposite of a family support system.

Meryl Streep's performance is one of the most demonstrative of her career. Some may call it over the top, but I believe it's essential to the tone of the movie and the family interactions. Her exchanges with Julia Roberts define the monster mother and daughter in her image theme. They don't nitpick each other, it's more like inflicting gaping wounds. Surprisingly, Roberts mostly holds her own ... though that could be that the film borders on campy much of the time. Streep's scene comes as she recalls the most horrific childhood Christmas story you could ever want to hear.

It must be noted that Margo Martindale is the real highlight here. She has two extraordinary scenes ... each very different in style and substance ... and she nails them both. Without her character and talent, this film could have spun off into a major mess. The same could be said for Chris Cooper, who is really the moral center of the family. While the others seem intent on hiding from their past, he seems to make the best of his situation.

The film never really captures the conflicting environments of the old Weston homestead and the wide open plains of Oklahoma. The exception is a pretty cool post-funeral scene in a hayfield where Roberts tells Streep "There's no place to go". The main difference between the film version and stage version is the compressed time and the decision to include all explosive scenes. There is just little breathing room here. Still, it's one of the more entertaining and wild dysfunctional comedy-dramas that you will see on screen, and it's quite obvious this group of fine actors thoroughly enjoyed the ensemble experience.

It's Osage County, Oklahoma. Violet Weston (Meryl Streep) has quite a mouth and the mouth cancer to go with it. She's crass, addicted to painkillers, and the bitter matriarch of the dysfunctional family. Her youngest daughter Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) is still close by dutifully helping out but easily dismissed by Violet. Her sister Mattie Fae Aiken (Margo Martindale) keeps sticking around with her husband Charlie (Chris Cooper). Favorite oldest daughter Barbara (Julia Roberts) has returned with her separated husband Bill Fordham (Ewan McGregor) and daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin). Violet's husband Beverly (Sam Shepard) has enough of the her difficulties and walks off. He is found drowned and the family gathers for the funeral. The middle daughter Karen (Juliette Lewis) returns with new fiancé Steve Huberbrecht (Dermot Mulroney). Little Charles Aiken (Benedict Cumberbatch) is the loser son of Mattie Fae and Charlie who overslept for the funeral.

There are a lot of great actors doing Oscar caliber work. The best thing director John Wells does is to point the camera and let these actors work. Meryl Streep is the master, and there is no way to describe her work with justice. Julia Roberts kept up with her and that is high praise for any actor. Every person in the cast deliver some of their best work. Writer Tracy Letts' play is all the same tone. That is the movie's biggest drawback. It is all vile and all bitterness. It is the same tone over and over again. It is overkill without any letup. I just enjoyed it for the performances.

It amazes me how you can watch a movie in one period of life, then rewatch it in a fifferent period of life and catch new things. This movie does that, which makes it timeless. I must say, big Sam Shephard fan, so obviously I'm going to like it a little. NOT a Meryl Streep fan but she killed it in this movie.. Julia Roberts, just WOW. I'm not sure if she was nominated but she should have won an Oscar for that performance. It requires an understanding of that kind of life in order to appreciate the movie. Don't listen to critics that have never left the city. They know nothing about the pain this movie seeks to explain.

Before I even start to talk about John Wells' new film "August: Osage County," I have to say I've never seen the stage play or read it by writer Tracy Letts. Following the screening, I felt it was important to disclose. An all-star cast is assembled, all which have individual moments to shine, which is surprising with a cast this size, and for the most part, the film succeeds on multiple levels. Sure to be divisive, "August: Osage County" is tenacious and beautifully constructed. Soulful and unafraid to show the gritty and ugly of the American family, Wells' film is utterly compelling. A must-see for the awards season. An instant Oscar contender.

From the top to the bottom, this film exists and succeeds by its performances. At the top of the heap and best in show is the stunning and beautiful Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts. Her turn as Barbara Weston is in the top three performances she's ever delivered. Roberts dives into herself in a way we haven't seen since "Erin Brockovich." The narrative fully turns on her character and in the final half of the film, she pulls the train through to the station. I'm incredibly impressed with her work. Roberts is a revelation and reminds the world how good she really is. A sure-fire Oscar contender.

As Violet Weston, a role played by Deanna Dunagan on Broadway, there were high expectations to see what 3-time Academy Award Winner Meryl Streep would bring to the role. For the past few years, I've begged for Streep to "dirty it up" and play a role like this. A drug-addicted matriarch who a gutter mouth lets Streep give a fresh take on a character. Her performance is middle of the road for what Streep has delivered in her career. That can mean different things to different people. Middle of the road for Streep could be the best of any actor. I walked out of the theater feeling the same way I felt following the end credits of "Doubt." Streep excels in many areas of acting, but I feel when it comes to stage adaptations to the big screen, Streep doesn't live in the character as comfortably as she would in any other role. There are times that the role does go a bit over-the-top. That being said, Streep is still plenty great as she's been in other roles as of late. She inhabits lots of Violet's beats and mannerisms and gives dynamite exchange with some of her co-stars. It's a performance that will surely land her another Best Actress nomination.

Trying to pick any of the supporting characters to single out is like trying to pick your favorite child. Margo Martindale as Mattie Fae is ballsy and spunky and its good to see an actor of her caliber finally getting a chance to rip into a role like this. Her character reveals the film's darkest secret which gives her an edge over some of her co- stars, which Wells directs masterfully with DP Adriano Goldman.

I could eat Benedict Cumberbatch up with a spoon. As "Little Charles," he definitely has the narrative's most sympathetic story but more importantly, in a film that is full of despicable people, he manages to pull the audience in to root for him, even when you know he's doing something terribly wrong.

I've longed for Juliette Lewis to get back in Oscar's graces following her nomination over twenty years ago in Martin Scorsese's "Cape Fear." She as dynamic as we've seen her in the last few years, delivering her best turn yet as Karen. A true professional. Ewan McGregor continues to elevate himself as one of our finest actors working today as Bill, Barbara's estranged husband. As someone who is on the opposite side of the rational spectrum when compared the Weston ladies, McGregor stands out as a positive take. Unfortunately, he only gets one scene to really let loose in a memorable manner.

I can recall being floored by the work of Julianne Nicholson in the little indie that no one saw, "Flannel Pajamas" nearly seven years ago. I've never fully revisited her work since despite stints on "Conviction" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." As Ivy, the one sister that stayed behind, Nicholson embraces her natural and simplistic mannerisms that give her role a much-needed arc in the narrative. In a perfect world, we would be looking at Julianne Nicholson for serious Oscar consideration.

Brief but all too clear as perfection, Sam Shepard ignites his brief screen time as Beverly Weston, the patriarch of our family. Same could be said for Misty Upham as Johnna, our Native American housekeeper sitting as a silent observer.

Academy Award winner Chris Cooper shines when he takes on sensitive and accessible performances. With a tough exterior but a soft and loving emotional center, Cooper acts as an sentimental pillar to our tale. If there is room for a man in an Oscar lineup from a film dominated by women, he is likely it.

Director John Wells has a strong hold on the material. He understands where he wants the narrative to go, putting an emphasis on the story and letting any directorial styles take a backseat. It's definitely appreciated in a story that has so many moving parts. Writer Tracy Letts adapts his own play and in the second half really stretches out his legs as the story takes shape for certain characters. The first thirty minutes are rough. The dialogue isn't as quick as snapping your finger. Some monologues run a little long and there are a pair of instances where I checked out of the story for a moment.

The Weinstein Company have quite a gem on their hands. Lots of heart and laughs, "August: Osage County" has the year's best cast ensembles and is one of the year's best films.

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