Remember Melanie's 1972 hit, "Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma?" The lyrics to that kept playing through my head, as I watched the film version of "August:: Osage County" yesterday.
Let's start with the worst, and get it over with. Julia Roberts gets the final shot.
That's right! JULIA "WORTHLESS" ROBERTS. A lot goes wrong with the film before that, but this, THIS, is the most egregious error!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When it was done, on the Broadway stage, in 2007, "August: Osage County" offered up a conflagration of theatrical fireworks by an ensemble cast that worked as an organic whole, because the piece, even with a three hour length, was structured as an organic whole. Not so the film. Pared down by an hour, there is no structure, no transition, and much deletion of character development. Tracy Letts sold himself to the Hollywood Dream Machine, allowing them to destroy the integrity of his piece. Not that there are not some good actors or moments in the film. The problem is that's all there is. No transitions, no expositions; the film version of "August:Osage County" amounts to one, extended, two hours plus cat fight!
Julia Roberts, to her sole credit, cannot be blamed for this! That goes to the director, John Wells. There is no direction, no editorial sense, no artistry at all. For a film that centers around the suicidal death of a regionally distinguished poet, the film is sorely lacking the poetry that Letts' piece had on stage. Oh, it comes through, at times, in some of the speeches, but Wells shoots the whole thing as though it were a two hour television show. Which is not much of a surprise, because, Wells came from television. But how did he land, or who gave him the right, to direct this A-list piece and turn it into C-minus sludge???????????? Even more than Julia Roberts, Wells is the problem, here!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, you may be asking by now, is there anything at all good about the film.
Yes, there is, and I am going to tell you that,now!!!!
The Divinity That Is MERYL STREEP nails Violet Weston. From her addictive tics and twitches, to her monologue bouts of truth telling, saying the things we would all like to say to those we despise, but , sadly don't, she is refreshing, and it is a good thing she is on screen most of the time. I LOVE Violet, and I relate to both she and Barbara. Let's face it, if you have relatives you cannot stand, you will relate to "August:Osage County." As this film demonstrates, the sins of the parents are visited upon the children. It's like my White Trash cousins, the Liddys, who keep encroaching into my family's life when they are not welcome, and should stay the fuck away! The sins of their no good, bastard father, guilty of unforgivable acts toward my mother and myself, are visited upon his children, their children, and now those children's children!!!!!!!!!! Like the Westons, they are to be avoided. And if any of you Liddys read this, FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
My, I am getting a bit hot under the collar here. Guess I have more than a speck of Vi and Barb in me!!!!!!! So, let's get back to the movie!
Juliette Lewis is perfect casting as trashy sister, Karen; an over aged, New Age tramp, who is that new example of American failure--once upon a time, those who failed ended up as car salesmen. Now, if you can't make it, you end up in real estate, Karen's line of work. Not to mention her lack of success with men: Dermot Mulroney, by the way, does what he can with the role of Karen's sleazy fiance, Steve, but one thing the movie does is to short change the men's parts. Too bad, because some of them are good, especially Chris Cooper as Charlie. I disagreed with Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal as Little Charles; on stage he was played as someone lacking in both developmental and psychological stature; here he just comes off as a schlep!!!! I am telling you, it is the lack of direction that louses up the film time and again.
As for Julia, who, as eldest daughter Barbara, needs to be a worthy adversary to Violet, well..she's not. Roberts' idea of looking embittered is a perpetual scowl with pursed lips; forget about facial transitions, because her acting level is not capable of such. Maybe with an A-list director, like, say, Mike Nichols, who could work with her, but not this Wells guy!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who is left? Abigail Breslin does a nice job as Barbara's teenage daughter, Jean; what she is allowed to do, that is. Hers is another role that has been shortchanged; and on stage, the sexual abuse between she and Steve was more palpably felt than on screen. If I recall, on stage, some took place at the dinner table. Hell, it starts almost as soon as he is in the house, out of Karen's sight!
While Julianne Nicholson does not do a bad job as Ivy, I have to wonder how she landed the role. Outside of a stint on "Law And Order, Criminal Intent," what the hell has she done??????? I worried, during the dinner scene, when she underplayed the scene where she stands up for Little Charles, that the adaptation was going to deprive Ivy of having any spine, which would be wrong; she is, after all, a Weston!!!! Never fear, Julianne shows plenty, later on, though I kept wondering what someone like, say Maggie Gyllenhaal, would have made of this part!
Thank God for Margo Martindale as Mattie Fae,, the only stage trained actress capable of holding her own with MERYL. Casting her was the second smartest thing done--MERYL being first, of course. As for Ewan McGregor, he plays the role as blandly written, but on stage Bill had some spine of his own. Even when arguing with Julia, McGregor acts as though he is being cut down and castrated every time.
But that is just what this brilliant play has been--cut down, and castrated. What was searing American drama on stage here becomes a series of fight set pieces. Come on!
Now, let's talk about the ending. Even if the final shot had been MERYL being held in Johnna's arms (an excellent and underused Misty Uphan!!!!) it would have been OK. But nothing could match the power and poetry that took place on stage, with Violet and Johnna clinging to each other, alone in the top of the house, while the Native American repeatedly sings, "This is the way the world goes round and round," as the lights slowly come down, fading to black, which was sheer theatrical brilliance! To go from this to giving JULIA--JULIA, goddammit!!!!!!!!--that final shot, is the film's most unforgivable sin.
Tracy Letts obviously made a Deal With The Devil, and look what he got!
He should have held out till he got a better director, and the film made on HIS terms! I would have, darlings!
Which just goes to prove two things, girls! That some artists can be bought at any price! And when they are, it yields crappy results!
My final word to this film, John Wells, and my trashy relatives--
FUCK YOU, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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