• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

Movie Review – August: Osage County (2013)

January 23, 2014 by admin

August: Osage County, 2013.

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

SYNOPSIS:

A look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them.


By all accounts, August: Osage County is nothing more than Oscar gold – of it’s cast, there have been five winners and 24 nominations. Tracy Letts’ play of drug abuse, alcoholism and the blood, sweat and tears of family life treads a careful line on screen, never out-staying its welcome and working almost too close to the original source material. We the audience are plunged into the dirty, venomous environment created by Meryl Streep’s Violet and can’t but choke on the excess of it all.

Wells is incredibly respectful of the source, almost to a fault. Tracy Letts’ play succeeds as a piece of theatre and less as a piece of cinema. The glistening heat of Oklahoma can only be implied enough until it begins to tinge with a sense of depression, clawing at the subtlety it so desperately needs. Any flair seen in Letts’ previous work Killer Joe is abandoned for an uncomfortable sense of dread that leads nowhere and what should be a dirty, ugly undertone lacks any flair.

When Meryl Streep wants an Oscar, she will get that Oscar and Osage County may be her at her most forced. In a film dominated by awkward subtlety, she stands out, chewing the scenery as the pill-popping, cackling Violet. It’s no surprise that she stands out, protruding from the screen, almost spluttering out onto the audience. However, after an hour of cackling, it gets too much, the family begins to fall apart, as does the film. John Wells clearly has a grasp on how to direct such an impressive cast of actors but he fails to balance them, focusing on few and abandoning the rest of the cast.

The curve of the drama follows less of a melodrama, more a pantomime. Villains appear as their companions jeer and spit. Being a pantomime, the film succeeds during moments of comedy. These stand out, sandwiched between awkward moments of dialogue and moments of intense violence, both mental and physical. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Streep’s nephew as broadly comic and Chris Cooper brings a much needed sense of reality. As the cast continues to grow-and seemingly never ends-lefts begins to panic, allowing the characters to abandon the family with no real goal.

August: Osage County can’t rub off its theatrical origins. Of its 130 minute time, only two set-pieces stand out, resulting in an un-even, but entertaining final product. Wells deserves an applause for his subtlety, less for his lack of bravado the film so desperately needs.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Thomas Harris 

 

Originally published January 23, 2014. Updated March 29, 2021.

Filed Under: Movies, Reviews Tagged With: August Osage County

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Exploring George A. Romero’s Non-Zombie Movies

The Essential Horror-Comedy Movies of the 21st Century

7 Great 90s Thrillers From First-Time Directors

Great Vampire Movies You May Have Missed

10 Great Tarantino-esque Movies You Need To See

Ten Great Comeback Performances

Crazy Cult 80s Movies You May Have Missed

Can Edgar Wright conquer America with The Running Man?

The Essential Revisionist Westerns of the 21st Century

The Essential Pamela Anderson Movies

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

Top Stories:

Movie Review – Him (2025)

The Essential Robert Redford Movies

Movie Review – Steve (2025)

Movie Review – One Battle After Another (2025)

Comic Book Review – Deadpool/Batman #1

Movie Review – In Vitro (2025)

Movie Review – Ballad of a Small Player (2025)

The Essential Action Movies From Cannon Films

4K Ultra HD Review – Krull (1983)

Eight Essential Sci-Fi Prison Movies

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

The Essential Richard Norton Movies

The (00)7 Most Underrated James Bond Movies

The Blockbuster Comic Book Movie Problem: The Box Office Cliff Edge

Ranking Bad E.T. Rip-Offs From Worst to Watchable

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket