August: Osage County (2013) Review – A Depressing Drama Led by Terrific Performances!

August: Osage County is inspired from a stage play written by Tracy Letts where the plot onsets with the three daughters of the Weston family gather together for their father’s funeral who commits suicide after suffering a miserable lifestyle. The elder person of the family, Violet Weston (Meryl Streep) is addicted to chancy perilous pills which compels her to think in an eccentric way which, in turn, concerns her daughter’s feelings. Having been surrounded in a catastrophic vibe, things start to unfold in a ruinous manner which results in appalling arguments.

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Inspired from a three-hour stage play, August: Osage County has a great ensemble cast who were exempted with a story and were asked to play as naturally as they can. And that’s one of the foremost reasons I assert that Osage County is a movie which was primarily based on acting other than the story. Every actor in the movie was provided with a moment and are allowed to display the character’s intention and how they differ from each other’s feelings and aspirations.

Out of all the performances, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts excelled in the limelight. Their pragmatic approach and the inexplicable conversations shared were penetrating and extreme for the most part. Director John Wells had done the most vital thing my leaving the actors to play themselves contentedly without any pressure in hurrying up the scene. But in a story point of view, the movie was a letdown, the writing was quite underwhelming, and they were a few muffled unnecessary sequences which took me out of the drama abruptly.

Nevertheless, August: Osage County is a dark, depressing drama powered with terrific performances from Streep and Roberts. It’s rather upsetting than entertaining and will depend on how you receive these melodramatic subjects. Not my topmost recommendation for everybody, unless you have the intent to watch it once. Rent ‘August: Osage County’ on YouTube here.

Rating – 3.5/5 | Grade – B+

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