♥♥♥♥♥
+ Best Ensemble of the Year: Meryl
Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Margo
Martindale, Juliette Lewis, Chris Cooper, Misty Upham, Abigail Breslin,
Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard
 |
| Matriarch Meryl Streep goes down on the poster for John Wells' August: Osage County |
John Wells (The Company Men (2010)) has directed this adaptation of Tracy Letts' (Killer Joe (2011)) 2007 play of the same title, adapted by Letts himself. August is a plush ensemble piece:
The Weston family gathers in the home of their pill-addicted matriarch, as her husband Beverly has gone missing, and old resentments quickly dense the air.
Oklahoma is the flat, seemingly endless, unbearably hot setting, at times seeming like a backdrop devoid of real dimensions, in August, which has pressure cooker similarities to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), another play adaptation.
The dinner scene of the film is particularly great, and the star-studded cast glitters: Meryl Streep (Heartburn (1986)) and Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman (1990)), Oscar-nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, act together for the first time here, (losing to Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine (2013) and Lupita Nyong'o for 12 Years a Slave (2013), respectively); also Ewan McGregor (I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)), Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)), Margo Martindale (Heaven Is for Real (2014)), Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers (1994)), - who is outstanding and tragically funny in the film, - and Chris Cooper (The Muppets (2011)) and Misty Upham (Frozen River (2008)) are all terrific. Upham's relatively young life ended sadly as a real life tragedy, as she disappeared and was found dead at age 32 in 2014.
August seems like an homage to the depressing family gathering and bleakness in general. - With such good forces involved, some good music choices to boot, from a great play, such a shot of pessimism (containing some laughs as well) is highly welcome, and I repay it with generous 5 ♥.
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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) or, He's GAY, Ya Get It?!?
Cost: 25 mil. $
Box office: 74.1 mil. $
= Box office success
[Filming took place from October-December 2012 in Oklahoma and LA. It premiered at Toronto International Film Festival, opened limited in the end of December and wide on January 10 to a 7.1 mil. $ first domestic weekend and mixed reviews, as many critics reacted against the darkness of the film. It grossed 37.7 mil. $ (51 % of the total gross) in North America.]
What do you think of August: Osage County?
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