August: Osage County

August: Osage County is the film adaptation of the award winning play written byTracy Letts who also wrote the screenplay. Directed by John Wells and starring the extraordinary Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, Juliette Lewis, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dermot Mulroney, Ewan McGregor and Chris Cooper, this is the story of an extremely dysfunctional family and the problems each of its members bring to the table (in this case the dinner table). Having seen the play on Broadway I can attest to the fact that the 3 hour play with 2 intermissions was so well acted and directed that it seemed to be only 2 hours in length. Conversely, the movie is only 2 hours in length but seems like it extends beyond 3. No one can quarrel with the words of the author and the tremendous talent on the screen but it just doesn’t capture the intensity and tightness of the stage rendition. One can argue that Ms. Streep’s character was too dramatic and “over the top” but the role played both by Ms. Streep in the film and by Estelle Parsons on the stage required that kind of “overacting”. The character they portray is basically a drama queen and both actresses captured her perfectly. A great ensemble cast  that could have benefited more by better editing, I give the film 3 stars because the essence of any good performance, be it on stage or in a movie house, is great writing. For that reason alone, the film is worth listening to and watching.