AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (B+)

Bottom Line: A venomously dark and strangely enjoyable look past the front porch of a family in distress, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY boasts one of the most impressive ensemble casts of the past year (yeah, I’m looking at you AMERICAN HUSTLE)…  These diverged Midwestern families, reunited by a recent family crisis, all seem to have it out for each other and before the dust has a chance to settle – the verbal fists and physical claws gloriously come out to play.  Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts (both poised to easily nab a nom for best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively) stir the pot in this remarkably written and expertly acted stage-play turned motion picture.  The characters are layered, the situations are somewhat relatable and the tone is sometimes humorous, almost always acidic.  It may all seem like a little too much at times, but this heatedly dysfunctional family melodrama masterfully exposes corrosive relationships, dark secrets and heaps of angst in a cruelly piercing way – and yet it still finds a way to occasionally touch the heart.  If you think you had it bad with your family in town over the holidays – try this flick on for size…then think again.

 

Starring: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Juliette Lewis, Abigail Breslin, Dermot Mulroney, Margo Martindale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Cooper, Julianne Nicholson and Sam Shepard

Directed by: John Wells (THE COMPANY MEN)

Rated: R

Running time: 130 minutes

Story: AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. Letts' play made its Broadway debut in December 2007 after premiering at Chicago's legendary Steppenwolf Theatre earlier that year. It continued with a successful international run. (c) Weinstein

 

Official site: www.augustosagecountyfilm.com