Entertainment
Let the catfights commence
August: Osage County is an entertaining dramedy about the dynamics within dysfunctional family, but the film is neither remarkable nor memorable, and laden with heavy-handed lead performancePreena Shrestha
To call Meryl Streep a ‘great actress’ is perhaps redundant at this point in time. The woman has won more awards than she probably has shelf space for—three Oscars, among a host of others—and there’s the practically yearly reaping of nominations besides. She’s a skin-changer, transforming and imbibing the minutest of tics and expressions for each successive role, best evident in her portrayals of famous personalities, whether it was playing a terrifying fashion mag honcho in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada (a role ins-pired by real life Vogue editor Anna Wintour), the gushy, high-pitched Julia Childs in Julie and Julia in 2009, or former British PM Margaret Thatcher in 2011’s The Iron Lady. Aside from replicating a person’s particular look and gestures, the actress has always been able to evoke sympathy for her characters, unearthing weaknesses that render these larger-than-life figures human and relatable in one way or another.
But when someone is as good as Streep is, there’s always a risk of going over the top, turning up the theatrical dial too high, when not reined in by a solid story or an authoritative director. That appears to have been the case with John Wells’ screen adaptation of a Pulitzer-winning play of the same name by Tracy Letts, August: Osage County, which oftentimes feels like one is being treated to an extended presentation titled 101 Ways to Chew Scenery: The Meryl Streep Progra-mme. Director Wells seems to be under the impression that if one pulls together great actors, shoves them into a confined space and throws some lines at them, it’s a surefire recipe for cinematic fireworks. And while there are certainly blazes here and there in Osage County, these are all between the performers rather than their characters—one has the distinct feeling of watching actors wrestle over who can overemote the most, as opposed to convincing fictional creations. In each of these tussles, Streep eclipses her co-stars, sending them scurrying into the shadows. That’s not to say that it isn’t an entertaining film…with acting talent like this, you can’t really help but enjoy yourself, even when it’s overdone. But the story doesn’t quite breach the kind of emotional ground it should have as a harrowing family drama; it’s darkly funny on occasion, but not as moving as one would hope.
The story is centred on a dysfunctional brood from rural Oklahoma. It’s been a while since the three Weston sisters have been together under the same roof, but when their father Beverly (a homey Sam Shephard) is reported missing one day, they’re forced to converge at the old family home, where their mother, the cancer-stricken yet still maddeningly vicious Violet (Streep), lies in wait. Barbara (Julia Roberts), the eldest, hails from Colorado, having hightailed it out of her parents’ house years ago (a source of ire on Violet’s part), and is accompanied on the trip home, reluctantly, by her husband Bill (Ewan McGregor) and 14-year-old daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin). The airheaded Karen (Juliette Lewis), who was off in Florida, dillydallying with all manner of men, is also back, and has brought along her newest conquest, Steve (Dermot Mulroney), while middle sister Ivy (Julianne Nicholson), the only one to stay back in Oklahoma to look after mum and dad, is nursing a big secret that could potentially earn her black sheep status.
Add to this already volatile mix the appearance of other family members, including Violet’s sister Mattie Fae and her husband Charlie (played by Margo Martindale and Chris Cooper) and their son, Little Charlie (Benedict Cumberbatch), and you have the makings of an old-fashioned family rumble, the kind where grudges resurface over the dinner table, backs are stabbed, confidences unceremoniously broken, dishes thrown around and bucketloads of tears spilled. Although almost every member of the family gets a cruel dressing-down at the hands of the self-proclaimed ‘truth-telling’ matriarch, the verbal sparring is particularly brutal between her and Barbara, even leading to a surprising physical altercation at one point.
Given that the screenplay was written by Letts himself, it understandably retains something of a stagey feel. For instance, even though there are brief sojourns into the outdoors and glimpses of grassy landscapes, most of the action is sequestered within the walls of the Weston home, and there is a distinctly claustrophobic aura to the proceedings—although that feeling often goes beyond actual space and extends to the figurative sense too: These are people trapped and suffocating under the weight of their family obligations. The script is laden with fast-paced, witty dialogues tossed about almost lyrically between characters, very sharp and very funny at times, and the story, while not remarkable or all that surprising, is interesting enough.
But Osage County is an actor’s film, through and through. Chock-full of close-ups and prolonged scenes in small areas, it’s essentially an unapologetic showcase of the cast’s skills—and pretty substantial skills they are—although there are moments where you wish they didn’t need to drive that point home quite so firmly. Nicholson’s is probably the most subtle of all the roles here, but she manages to make an impression, and Martindale is as gregarious and likeable as ever, as is Cooper and the rest of the second-tier stars. Cumberbatch and McGregor, however, feel a tad miscast, and both struggle with their accents somewhat. But Roberts and Streep occupy a whole other thespian dimension altogether, reveling in unchecked histrionics that seem too far-fetched, and sometimes even silly, given the context.
Ultimately, it’s a hard one to gauge. I won’t deny I had fun watching this, but the enjoyment came more from seeing these great big actresses have a go at each other than from any actual engagement with the story. There’s a whole lot of drama in Osage County, but not as much insight; entertainment aplenty, but no memorable impact.