August: Osage County (2013)

August: Osage County (2013) – Review

As soon as i learnt that this movie features Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts together, i instantly decided i wanna watch it no matter what! Obviously because both are considered amongst great female actors of Hollywood, who would want to miss this one. Cast includes Abigail Breslin (of Little Miss Sunshine fame) who used to be my fav child artiste, is suddenly a grown up now! But she is playing a 14 year old in the movie in spite of being 18 years old in real life. The three actresses look perfect for the role of three generations – grandmother, mother and granddaughter. Also there is Benedict Cumberbatch who is supposedly a raved about actor due to him playing the role of Sherlock Holmes. I mean yeah he is indeed a good actor but what’s the mayhem about his looks and all, i don’t understand! In the cast there is a long list including Dermot Mulroney (of My Best Friend’s Wedding and Wedding Date fame) and Julianne Nicholson (more of a TV series actor) amongst others.

Movie is based on a Pulitzer Prize winning play of same name by Tracy Letts. The story revolves around the fact that the whole Weston family (three sisters and their extended family) has to come together after the news of their father’s disappearance, and from there on they have to stick together in this unusual crisis of a situation which keeps getting out of hand. They have to just endure each other’s presence; especially their mother’s who is not well in more than one ways. She is a mouth-cancer patient who is addicted to drugs and pills of all kinds; and ironically she is a smoker too. Then they get to know that their father has died (committed suicide probably). There is a funeral and afterwards, such things unfold which no one could ever imagine. The three generations viz a viz Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts (one of the sisters) and Abigail are just perfect fits for their roles and also complement each other in every way. Talking about the three generations, i could somewhat draw certain similarities between the three of them. Like mother like daughter; like grandmother like granddaughter!

Surely i didn’t expect the movie to be so serious. The comedy is too dark to be laughed at, the story line keeps getting tangled and more intense which has just left me speechless. But one thing is undeniable. All the actors have given brilliant powerful performances and Meryl Streep is undoubtedly beyond perfection. New found respect for her. Same for Julia Roberts, she is just amazing as well.

My point of view about the movie would be that it depicts very bluntly the sort of behaviour different people would portray at the time of utmost misery. Everyone behaves differently and reacts in a different manner to various things like fatal disease, loss, death, estrangement etc. The kind of person you are is truly reflected by the way you behave while you are grieving. This, i believe, is the essence of the movie. At one point i almost got a little heart attack watching the reactions that are shown in the movie, which is a tad bit over exaggerated, but at the same time very realistic and extremely blatant; almost at the verge of being scary. At the end, its all about choices, priorities, mistakes, emotions, good, bad, ugly…everything what life is all about.

A must watch family drama. I would give it 8 out of 10.