Tracy Letts was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for his play August: Osage County. He did the screenplay for the 2013 screen adaptation. Having been disappointed by many modern plays, I let the DVD version sit next to the machine until there was a night when TV offered nothing of interest. A half hour into the story, I was not won over. Then it began to grow on me, despite it loathsomeness, as I saw it was more than just another jaundiced view of the American family and its hypocrisy. The family at the center of the piece is as about as dysfunctional as one gets. To the author’s credit, it is a portrait of individuals and not a blanket statement of life in the USA. It is grim and uncompromising, not for those who prefer pleasant fare. Ugly secrets are revealed throughout. Except for the many expletives, I was reminded of the works of Eugene O’Neill. It features as good a cast as ever assembled. Meryl Streep stars as the pill-popping, chain-smoking matriarch, another plum role in her amazing canon. Julia Roberts matches her, in complete command of the F-word, as the strongest of the three daughters. The others are played by Juliette Lewis and Julianne Nicolson, who I was unable to place until two-thirds of the film had unreeled. She was Detective Wheeler in 24 episodes of Law & Order Criminal Intent, her hair then short and red, not medium length and dark. I’m embarrassed to say I did not realize until the closing credits that it was Ewan MacGregor playing Roberts’ estranged husband. I continue to be amazed at how effortlessly Brits play Yanks. Benedict Cumberbatch is equally convincing as the sensitive nephew, a role so different from his turn as Sherlock. Chris Cooper is outstanding as the in-law. His character injects much needed decency into the proceedings, as does Misty Upham as the Native American housekeeper, although the latter smacks of political correctness. Cooper does it with his usual unpretentious brilliance. Also on hand, veterans Margo Martindale, whom any fan of TV or movies would recognize; Sam Shepard; Dermot Mulroney; and Abigail Breslin, who at the tender age of 18 has already amassed 36 credits. Surprisingly, given its grimness, the film was a modest success at the box office, earning 38 million in the USA alone on a budget of 24 million. It was directed by John Wells, who has worked mostly in TV. I'm never comfortable commenting on directing, as it is an art I don't understand. I'll say only that it looks like a movie and not a filmed play. Letts, a male, also wrote Killer Joe, a play adapted to the screen in 2011, which I didn’t like. 41,500+ contributors have rated August: Osage County at IMDb, forging to a consensus of 7.3 of ten. On a scale of five, I rate it four. There are, and there have been, many great American actresses. Does anyone, even Katherine Hepburn, come close to the number of significant roles Streep has portrayed? She is a national treasure.
PBS in NYC is running The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) tonight at nine. I chuckled at the description in the TV listings in the NY Post: “Three disparate lowlifes decide to team up to find Confederate treasure.” I wonder what Clint Eastwood would think of having his iconic Man with No Name described that way. Then again, it isn't far from the truth, a mega-anti-hero.
Monsie has had her eye on Close to the Edge for a couple of years. Today she finally bit. Thanks, my dear, and also to all the other buyers who made the floating book shop seem like a legitimate business this wonderful afternoon. My thanks also to whomever purchased A Truth Universally Acknowledged, available only on Kindle.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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