AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY ***

Flawed but entertaining with top notch performances, John Wells' adaptation of Tracy Letts' play doesn't transcend the text and take the material into the territory of a White Trash Mike Leigh film.

August: Osage County, 125 minutes, director: John Wells *** of 4 stars

From the text, August: Osage County is a far more challenging piece of work to adapt than playwright Tracy Letts’ previous stage to screen adaptations, Bug and Killer Joe (both brilliantly directed by William Friedkin). Letts’ specialty it would appear is dark, twisted white trash comedy with an undercurrent of violence and addiction – August: Osage County is no different.

Criticisms have blamed director John Wells, best known as a TV producer; he previously directed the flawed but timely The Company Men in 2010 (from his own script). August: Osage County is a tough nut to crack – flawed with brilliant performances you’d expect from this cast. What exactly went wrong? I’m not so sure as I’d file this one under interesting but imperfect – it offers a lot more under the hood than other films. Wells has opened up the story a great deal – despite a very long (and funny) scene that takes place at a dinning room table full of revelations. Other moments have shifted to cars and outdoors settings – adding visuals to Letts’ text. What is lost is that these moments feel somewhat less motivated, although thankfully this text is not considered as sacred as Shakespeare (let’s agree that the we’ve seen too many Shakespeare adaptations in contemporary settings that keep the language in tact). I think this is the problem critics have well Wells’ adaptation: Bug, another Lett’s adaptation wisely remained closed – it’s the story of two individuals that infect each other in the confines of a dingy motel room. Here, the text work doesn’t feel quite as deep on the part of Wells and his production team.

Like Bug, August: Osage County is about social infection – the matriarch of the group is brilliantly played by Meryl Streep, she’s a pill-popping alcoholic who after a few lets it all out. Unapologetically she admits she’s just “truth telling”. Her husband Beverly, played by Sam Sheppard has gone missing and is later found dead in a creek. The family reunites for the funereal including sisters Barbara (Julia Roberts), Ivy (Julianne Nicolson), and Karen (Juliette Lewis). Each is well developed, more so than the men in this story, apart from Benedict Cumberbatch’s Little Charles, a sweet guy in over his head.

The other male characters are all seemingly developed with regards to how they relate to the woman at the heart of this material. Normally it’s the other way around – I’m fine with it – especially after one too many Adam Sandler comedies that treat a whole gender as a plot device. They include Bill (Ewan McGregor), a rather dull man who returns with his estranged wife Barbara out of respect.  She taunts him over an affair. Steve, the fiancé of Karen is a sleaze-ball portrayed as only Dermott Mulroney can. Also under developed in this mess is Barbara and Bill’s daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin).

August: Osage County has several hilarious revelations and truly painful moments interspersed. The approach is faithful to the text in a way that that it dictates the tone. The actors are all up for the challenge, but one would have to wonder, if free from Lett’s text what kind of white trash Mike Leigh movie might have evolved. Challenging, August: Osage County is still enjoyable and full of surprises (many I’d prefer not to reveal). Worth seeing, the film is a showcase of excellent performances.