The "strong-willed" women of the Weston family gather together in the midst of an August heat wave, in, you guessed it: Osage County, Oklahoma. We meet Violet (Streep) and her sister, Mattie (Margo Martindale), as well as their plethora of children and nieces and nephews and everything in between. The protagonist seems to be Barbara (Julia Roberts), the one daughter who got away but still kept her ties to the humble Oklahoma origins she has come to remember. Not cherish, just remember.
The play itself seems to be a standout piece of writing for actors to absolutely chew through the scenery with. Dialogue is crisp and effective, and all the actors are more than capable of the task (Roberts is especially good in her lead performance (though of course, she was nominated in Supporting categories for reasons unknown (or to ensure her an Oscar nomination. Probably that...)). The areas the film falls flat, then, is everything else. In a play ripe with drama and emotions, the weight each scene carries simply becomes a burden on the film, and by the end of the story, we are just left confused and bewildered and almost laughing at all the misfortunes this family faces in one week. Christmas get togethers must be Hell.
Perhaps this isn't a film that was meant to be made. Perhaps there is a fine line between Broadway and melodrama - effective live but hokey when watched in a cinema. I have no doubt of the play's beauty and writing. My gosh, the writer of the original (Tracy Letts) adapted his work into the screenplay used in this film. My faults with the film do not rest with Meryl Streep (who is marvelous), or any of the cast, or even the director. In the end, it just feels like a more appropriate title might have been "August: General Hospital," or "All My Children: Osage County."
(Awards potential: Best Actress (Streep), Best Actress (Roberts), Best Supporting Actress (Martindale), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score)
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