August: Osage County: Too Hot for Comfort—Movie

Is it possible for a movie to fail when it is based on a Pulitzer-Prize winning play and features terrific performances from an all-star cast? The answer is “yes” as “August: Osage County” sadly demonstrates.

Based on Tracy Letts’ award-winning play, with screenplay by Letts and direction by John Wells, “August: Osage County” is about the Weston family who have gathered in Oklahoma following the disappearance and subsequent death of Beverly Weston (Sam Shepard), the family patriarch. To say the Weston family is dysfunctional is an understatement. From the movie’s opening scenes, we know this is a given. To cope with this dysfunction, each family member…either by birth or marriage…has developed a sharp, dark and biting way of communicating with one another. If you can’t meet that tone head-on, you either keep what you’re feeling inside, like middle daughter, Ivy (Julianne Nicholson), who has stayed in Oklahoma to look after her parents, until she can no longer control her seething rage at the slights and jabs taken over the years. Or, you leave the home as soon as you can, like oldest daughter, Barbara (Julia Roberts), and youngest daughter, Karen (Juliette Lewis), only to discover, in Barbara’s case, that she is in danger of turning into a miniature version of  her mother, Violet (Meryl Streep).

Also entering the reunion fray is Violet’s sister, Mattie Fae Aiken (Margo Martindale), and Mattie Fae’s husband, Charlie (Chris Cooper), and their son, Little Charles (Benedict Cumberbatch). You can tell that Charlie loves his wife and that he’s learned to deal with her sharp tongue by either ignoring her or occasionally snapping right back. And Little Charles? Let’s just say there’s more to him than meets the eye. Barbara comes to the family gathering with her estranged husband, Bill (Ewan McGregor) and surly teenage daughter, Jean (Abigail Breslin). It’s hard not to imagine Jean turning into a carbon copy of her mother unless something shakes Barbara out of her bitterness.  Two newcomers to the reunion are Karen’s fiancé, Steve (Dermot Mulroney), and Johnna (Misty Upham), the Native American Beverly hired right before his disappearance to serve as a live-in caregiver  and cook.

Although “August: Osage County” is female-driven, director Wells and writer Letts don’t let the male co-stars roll over and play dead. Each actor has his moment in the sun and each makes the most of the time he has on screen. Especially good are Cumberbatch and Cooper. Cumberbatch has some wonderful scenes with Martindale, Cooper and Nicholson…most especially Nicholson. Of all the characters, his is the most fragile and Cumberbatch heartbreakingly conveys that fragility. Cooper has some great scenes with Martindale and Streep, which let us in on how he’s managed to survive in this family.

But ultimately this play is about the women and their relationships with one another. Meryl Streep’s Violet is at the top of the heap…she is really the one who made the women the way they are. There are some women who shouldn’t have children and Violet is one of them. Suffering from mouth cancer, she now has an excuse for some of her pill-taking. Cancer aside, the truth is, she’s been addicted to pills for most of her life with devastating  consequences. But although Violet’s life may be difficult, it’s impossible to empathize with her because the more we learn about her, the more we dislike her. She doesn’t appear to possess a single redeeming quality. Streep seems to be at a loss at how to play Violet. Her portrayal feels very over the top. I rarely think about how someone else would play a part that Meryl Streep has undertaken, but I found myself wondering about Bette Davis and what she might have done with such a role.

Julia Roberts, however, is terrific. Her Barbara is the best piece of work she’s done in a long time. She more than holds her own with Streep, and when she’s on the screen, she owns it. Roberts is very convincing as the older sister. Although her character is terribly flawed, Barbara seems to be the glue holding the family together over the course of their days together in Oklahoma. Julianne Nicholson’s Ivy is less showy, but is critical to the family underpinnings. As the movie progresses, she starts to come into her own and Nicholson is perfect in illustrating that growth.

Abigail Breslin is becoming a terrific actress. Her work with Roberts and McGregor is very good and she makes you care about the future of her character. Margo Martindale is one of those actresses who never seems to get it wrong, and her Mattie Fae is no exception. Her character can be unbelievably cruel; however, Martindale is great at making us understand what lies beneath the cruelty. Juliette Lewis’ Karen has less screen time, but Lewis gives an outstanding turn as someone desperate for love, no matter how despicable the source of that love may be.

So given all this wonderful acting, what makes “August: Osage County” not the success one would expect? The fact that it’s two hours of mostly unrelenting, in-your-face unpleasantness doesn’t help its cause. What works on stage, when the audience is at a distance, doesn’t necessarily work on-screen, where there’s no break from the screaming and shouting diatribes. The movie becomes difficult to sit through; not because of the subject matter, but in how the subject matter is presented.

“August: Osage County” is at its best in those rare instances of quiet conversation. Unfortunately, there just isn’t enough quiet.

2 nuggets out of 4

The Company Men: Compellingly Told—Movie

The Company Men, written and directed by John Wells, gives a very realistic portrayal of what it’s like to be laid off, how people react differently to being down-sized and the impact those circumstances have on one’s family. That such a depressing subject can hold your interest from beginning to end is a testament to good writing, directing and a terrific ensemble cast.

Set in New England during the financial havoc of 2008, The Company Men revolves primarily around three men of varying ages. Ben Affleck tops the bill as Bobby Walker, a high-flying sales executive for GTX, a company with roots in shipping, now a conglomerate of some sort. He becomes part of a large group of  GTX employees recently down-sized. For Bobby the news comes as a complete shock and he doesn’t take the news well. Affleck does a fantastic job of portraying Bobby’s anger and his long bout of denial. His character just assumes that his unemployment will come to an early end. That his way of life has changed for the forseeable future finally sinks in when Bobby’s down-to-earth wife, Maggie (Rosemarie DeWitt), cancels his country club membership, forcing him to face the reality of his situation.  Running out of severance, Bobby reluctantly accepts the construction job offer from his blue-collar brother-in-law, Jack Dolan, played terrifically by a completely unglamorized Kevin Costner. 

Down-sized right after Walker is middle-aged co-worker Phil Woodard, acted to melancholy perfection by Chris Cooper. Tommy Lee Jones rounds out the GTX threesome as Gene McClary, long-time friend of GTX founder, James Salinger (Craig T. Nelson), as well as a long-time company employee.

The Company Men is the flip side of 2009’s Up in the Air. At first you might wonder how the layoff of highly paid white men can resonate with the average person, but then you realize that a layoff is a layoff and it’s all relative. Company Men shows perfectly the angst of unreturned phone calls, the frustration of being one of hundreds turning out for a single job and the humiliation of not being able to provide for one’s family in the style to which everyone has become accustomed. Is the movie without flaws? No. Accents come and go; the ending might be a tad too pat; and I don’t know anyone, myself included, who leaves a job after a long tenure with just one box. But The Company Men is a story compellingly told, fabulously acted and well worth your time.

3 nuggets out of 4

The Town: Move over Woody and Clint and make way for Ben—Movie

The Town proves two things– Ben Affleck can act and most importantly, this man can really direct.

Based on Chuck Hogan’s novel, Prince of Thieves, with script by Affleck, Peter Craig and Aaron Stockard, and directed by Affleck, The Town is a tightly woven crime drama taking place in the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown. Boston is in Affleck’s blood and it shows in every shot—from the streets to the people to the accents. There is never a false note.

Ben Affleck is Doug McRae, the brains behind a small band of bank robbers. When the gang takes the bank manager, Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall), hostage for a brief period of time in the aftermath of a bank heist, the FBI heat on the robbers intensifies. The gang discovers that Claire lives in their Charlestown neighborhood, so Affleck purposely meets “cute” with her to see if she’ll be able to identify them. She doesn’t and the two of them hit it off, and after a brief time they  fall in love with consequences for all.

Affleck has assembled a terrific cast, some from television and others from the movies. All of them are great. Jeremy Renner as Jem Coughlin, whose character is like a brother to Doug, gives another phenomenal performance. He’s utterly convincing as the group’s hothead. Chris Cooper, as Doug’s proud, but defeated father, is once again fabulous in a small, but important role. Mad Men’s Jon Hamm is very good as the low-key FBI agent on the case and boy,his looks hold up well in the big screen. Pete Postlethwaite, as Fergie the florist, gives a chilling, unforgettable performance. Rebecca Hall’s Claire is spot-on, particularly in the robbery scene, with just the right touch of vulnerability and strength. And finally, Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively turns in such a fantastic performance as Jem’s sister and Doug’s one-time girlfriend, that she could have people talking coming awards’ time.

The terrific directing is not limited to the actors. The car chases are fantastic and authentic…up and down and around the narrow streets of Boston. The scenes in and around Fenway Park feel real and the robberies are staged like a pro did them.

Affleck’s directing card should be getting very crowded. Any producer with a brain in his or her head should be begging him to direct their movies. He absolutely directs the beejeezus out of everyone in The Town.  The Town also demonstrates that perhaps Affleck should have been directing himself years ago. Ben Affleck, the actor, hasn’t been this good since Chasing Amy.

Woody and Clint—look out! There’s a new hyphenate in town and he’s gunning for you.

4 nuggets out of 4