August: Osage County

          This movie, starring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, and solid supporting acting by the likes of Little Miss Sunshine herself, is a family dramedy that takes place in the dead of summer. (It is more of a drama, but it has enough comedic moments to not be so much of a downer.) A family emergency brings everyone back to Streep's character's home, where all family secrets are revealed, for better or worse. Mainly worse.

          August: Osage County is good, but some things bothered me about it. The basic plot was fine, feeling very much like a play. This in itself is a good thing, for it was adapted from a play. I would argue that some "dramatic" moments, which probably were earth-shattering on stage, were overplayed. Big revelations were not exactly surprising, and built up too much by overt foreshadowing. All in all, these minor kinks were fine, holding the movie back from fitting the shoes of a great film, yet manageable. The real trouble, for me, was on the technical side.

          Editing choices and sound issues took away from the film. The ambient sounds often did not mix well with the dialogue recorded on set. The sounds of nature that are added in post-production sounded like they were added in post-production, taking out the "fourth wall." This was especially evident in an outdoor scene in which Roberts' lapel mic is making indoor-type echoes, which would be fine, except that the artificial ambient sounds of bugs and birds really drives home that you are watching a movie. The illusion of the convention of movies is dissolved when these issues are not corrected. Then there is the editing. In one "family feud," Roberts says something to Streep that is meant to shift the power in the household. This important line of dialogue occurs with Roberts and Streep in a two-shot, both of whom are hidden by their hair/wig and awkward position. The important game-changer in this scene should have been underscored by a medium-close or even close-up of Roberts, so this editing/cinematography choice puzzles me. On a more general scale, there are times throughout the entire movie when people are cut to who are not doing anything noteworthy. No, I do not think that only the people talking should be seen one-hundred percent of the time. Nonetheless, the non-talking people seen should at least be giving an expression worth seeing or serve a purpose of some kind. That purpose seems to be missing often in this movie. Not always, but often. The only conclusion I can draw is that there must have been some issue with the footage worth seeing that had to be cut away from. This is understandable, but it happens too often to be unnoticeable or excusable. I understand I am being nit-picky here, but I found these flaws to be distracting and taking away from the substance of the movie.

          Meryl Streep was great, of course, and most of the acting was very good. Cate Blanchett will probably beat her out come Oscars night, nevertheless. Julia Roberts was good, but I did not find it to be exceptional. Like with Michael Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave, maybe it was just me. I more enjoyed Julianne Nicholson as Ivy, a sister of Roberts' character. (The revelation pertaining to Ivy was the unsurprising one that I referenced earlier.) It was also nice to see Abigail Breslin, although I will never like her as much as I did in Little Miss Sunshine.

          August: Osage County holds your interest as well as any other good movie can, but it just was not great for me. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below. :)