Film review: August: Osage County

The film betrays its theatrical roots, but the great acting and cutting dialogue make it a must-see.

A scene from August: Osage County. Courtesy Toronto International Film Festival / AP Photo
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August: Osage County Director: John Wells Starring: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor

**** ⋆⋆⋆⋆

Streep gives yet another barnstorming performance in this star-filled adaptation of Tracy Letts’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play. She plays a cancer-stricken matriarch who sees all the ills in others but is oblivious to her own faults. When the death of her husband (Sam Shepard) sees the family return to their Colorado home, it’s dramatically apparent how the mother’s powerful demeanour has affected her children and their relationships. When the family gathers, dark secrets come out. Roberts – as the resentful eldest daughter – is finally given a role to remind us of her own considerable talents. Less impressive is Lewis as the wayward daughter. Betraying its theatrical roots, it’s at times wordy, but the great acting, cutting dialogue and mesmerising characters more than make up for the occasional lull.