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August: Osage County (film)

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August: Osage County
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Wells
Screenplay byTracy Letts
Based onAugust: Osage County
by Tracy Letts
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAdriano Goldman
Edited byStephen Mirrione
Music byGustavo Santaolalla
Production
companies
Distributed byThe Weinstein Company
Release dates
  • September 9, 2013 (2013-09-09) (TIFF)
  • December 27, 2013 (2013-12-27) (United States)
Running time
120 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$37 million[2]
Box office$74.2 million[3]

August: Osage County is a 2013 American black comedy-drama film directed by John Wells. It was written by Tracy Letts and based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning 2007 play of the same name. It was produced by George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Jean Doumanian, and Steve Traxler.

The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, and Misty Upham as a dysfunctional family that reunites at the family home when their patriarch (Sam Shepard) suddenly disappears.

August: Osage County premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2013, and was released in North America on December 27, 2013. A modest commercial success, the film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics.[4] While much praise was given to the cast, the screenplay was praised by some and seen by others as too dark and lacking in humor.[5][6] For their performances in the film, Streep and Roberts received Oscar nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.

Plot

[edit]

The title designates time and location: an unusually hot August in a rural area outside Pawhuska, Oklahoma, 60 miles Northwest of Tulsa. Beverly Weston, an alcoholic, once-noted poet, interviews and hires a young Cheyenne woman, Johnna, as a live-in cook and caregiver for his strong-willed and contentious wife Violet, who has oral cancer and an addiction to narcotics. Shortly after this, he disappears from the house, and Violet calls her sister and daughters for support. Her sister Mattie Fae arrives with her husband Charles Aiken. Violet's middle daughter Ivy is single and the only one living locally; Barbara, her oldest, who has inherited her mother's mean streak, arrives from Colorado with her husband Bill and 14-year-old daughter Jean. Barbara and Bill are separated, but they put up a united front for Violet.

After five days, the sheriff arrives with the news that Beverly took his boat out on the lake and has drowned. Youngest daughter Karen arrives with the latest in a string of boyfriends, Steve Huberbrecht, a sleazy Florida businessman whom she introduces as her fiancé. Mattie Fae and Charles's shy, awkward son "Little Charles" misses the funeral because he overslept and is met at the bus station by his father. Charles loves his son, whereas Mattie Fae constantly belittles him. Ivy confides to her sisters that she is in love with Little Charles, her cousin, who plans to move to New York, and that she cannot have children because she had a hysterectomy. She feels this is her only chance to finally marry.

The family sits down to dinner after the funeral; fueled by drugs, Violet insults and embarrasses each person at the table under the guise of "truth-telling", which results in Barbara pouncing on her in a fit of anger. Barbara has had enough of her mother's drug addiction, attacks her, knocks her to the ground, and confiscates her multitude of pills. Later, after Violet has had a chance to sober up, she has a tender moment with her daughters and shares a story that demonstrates how cruel her own mother was when she longed for a new pair of cowgirl boots when she was in her early teens. Instead of giving Violet the boots she wanted, her mother gave her a beautifully wrapped box on Christmas morning containing old, filthy men's work boots as a vicious prank.

The next day, when Little Charles sings Ivy a song he has written for her, Mattie Fae walks in and berates him. This exhausts Charles's patience with his wife's lack of love and compassion for her own son, and he threatens to leave her if she keeps it up. Mattie Fae subsequently reveals to Barbara, who unintentionally listened in, that long ago she had an affair with Beverly, and Little Charles is in fact their younger half-brother as well as their cousin and that is the true reason why he and Ivy cannot be together.

That evening, Steve and Jean are sharing a joint. Steve comes on to Jean, gets her stoned, asks her to show him her breasts, and starts to assault her. Johnna is woken by their conversation, sees this, and attacks him with a shovel. The commotion wakes up Barbara, Bill, and Karen who rush outside. Barbara confronts Jean and slaps her. This compels Bill to take Jean back to Colorado, leaving Barbara. Karen refuses to admit that her relationship is doomed and also leaves with Steve.

Later, Ivy tries to tell her mother about her relationship with Little Charles. Barbara tries to deflect the admission to protect Ivy from the truth. Violet tells Ivy that Charles is actually her brother, something Violet knew all along. Devastated, Ivy leaves and promises to never come back. In the last confrontation between Violet and Barbara, Violet admits she was contacted by Beverly from his motel the week after he had left home but did nothing to help him until after she removed money from the couple's joint safe deposit box. By that time, he had already killed himself. This revelation leads Barbara to depart, realizing that her mother is far beyond help. Violet is left with only Johnna. Violet begins dancing to loud music but quickly becomes too upset and goes off to find Johnna for comfort.

Barbara, driving through the plains, gets out of the car and cries. She then gets back in the car and continues west, following signage showing highways and number of miles to Wichita, Salina, and Denver.

Cast

[edit]
  • Meryl Streep as Violet Weston, the family matriarch who has cancer; Beverly's wife; Mattie Fae's sister; Barbara, Ivy, and Karen's mother; and Jean's grandmother
  • Julia Roberts as Barbara Weston-Fordham, Violet and Beverly's oldest daughter, Mattie Fae and Charles' niece, Ivy and Karen's older sister and Jean's mother
  • Ewan McGregor as Bill Fordham, Barbara's estranged husband and Jean's father
  • Chris Cooper as Charles Aiken Sr., Mattie Fae's husband, Barbara, Karen and Ivy's uncle and Charles Jr.'s father
  • Abigail Breslin as Jean Fordham, Barbara and Bill's teen daughter, Ivy and Karen's niece
  • Benedict Cumberbatch as Charles "Little Charles" Aiken Jr., Charles and Mattie Fae's son
  • Juliette Lewis as Karen Weston, Violet and Beverly's youngest daughter, Mattie Fae and Charles' niece, Barbara and Ivy's younger sister and Jean's aunt
  • Margo Martindale as Mattie Fae Aiken, Violet's younger sister and Barbara, Karen and Ivy's aunt, Charles Sr.'s wife and Charles Jr.'s mother
  • Dermot Mulroney as Steve Huberbrecht, Karen's fiancé
  • Julianne Nicholson as Ivy Weston, Violet and Beverly's second daughter, Mattie Fae and Charles' niece, Barbara and Karen's middle sister and Jean's aunt
  • Sam Shepard as Beverly Weston, the family patriarch, Barbara, Ivy and Karen's father, Violet's husband and Jean's grandfather
  • Misty Upham as Johnna Monevata, a young Native American hired by Beverly to help Violet in their daily life

Production

[edit]

John Wells directed, while George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Jean Doumanian, and Steve Traxler produced the film.[7][8][9] Renée Zellweger and Andrea Riseborough were considered to play Karen. Riseborough was cast but withdrew due to scheduling conflicts. Juliette Lewis replaced her.[10] Chloë Grace Moretz also auditioned for the role of Jean.[11]

Principal photography took place between October 16 and December 8, 2012,[9] in Bartlesville and Pawhuska, Oklahoma, and Los Angeles.

Release

[edit]

August: Osage County premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival[12][13] on September 9, 2013, before its release in select cities on December 27, 2013, followed by a wide release on January 10, 2014, in the United States. It was also released on January 1, 2014, in Australia. In its limited box-office debut, the film grossed $179,475 from five theaters, a $35,895 per-screen average.[14]

Critical response

[edit]
The performances of Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts garnered widespread critical acclaim, earning them Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 203 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "The sheer amount of acting going on in August: Osage County threatens to overwhelm, but when the actors involved are as talented as Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, it's difficult to complain."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 58 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[16] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[17]

Accolades

[edit]
Awards Category Nominee(s) Result
Academy Awards[18] Best Actress Meryl Streep Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Julia Roberts Nominated
AACTA International Awards[19] Best Actress Meryl Streep Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Julia Roberts Nominated
AARP Annual Movies for Grownups Awards[20] Best Supporting Actor Chris Cooper Won
American Cinema Editors[21] Best Edited Feature Film - Comedy/Musical Stephen Mirrione Nominated
Art Directors Guild[22] Excellence in Production Design - Contemporary Film David Gropman Nominated
BAFTA Awards[23] Best Supporting Actress Julia Roberts Nominated
Britannia Awards[24] British Artist of the Year Benedict Cumberbatch (also for his work on 12 Years a Slave, The Fifth Estate, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and Star Trek Into Darkness) Won
Critics' Choice Movie Awards[25] Best Actress Meryl Streep Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Julia Roberts Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Tracy Letts Nominated
Detroit Film Critics Society[26] Best Actress Meryl Streep Nominated
Best Ensemble Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard, and Misty Upham Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Julia Roberts Nominated
Golden Globe Awards[27][28] Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Meryl Streep Nominated
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Julia Roberts Nominated
Hollywood Film Festival[29] Ensemble of the Year Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard, and Misty Upham Won
Supporting Actress of the Year Julia Roberts Won
Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards[30][31] Best Sound Editing: Dialogue & ADR in a Feature Film Lon Bender Nominated
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle[32] Not-So-Obviously Worst Film August: Osage County Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society[33][34] Best Cast Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard, and Misty Upham Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Tracy Letts Nominated
Best Actress Meryl Streep Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Julia Roberts Nominated
Satellite Awards[35] Best Actress – Motion Picture Meryl Streep Nominated
Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Julia Roberts Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards[36] Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Meryl Streep Nominated
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Julia Roberts Nominated
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard, and Misty Upham Nominated
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association[37] Best Actress Meryl Streep Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association[38] Best Actress Meryl Streep Nominated
Best Acting Ensemble Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard, and Misty Upham Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award[39] Best Adapted Screenplay Tracy Letts Nominated

Soundtrack

[edit]

Gustavo Santaolalla composed the original music for August: Osage County. The soundtrack was released on January 7, 2014, through Sony Classical.[40]

No.TitleArtistLength
1."Hinnom, TX"Bon Iver3:50
2."Last Mile Home"Kings of Leon4:34
3."Lay Down Sally"Eric Clapton3:48
4."Don't Let Go"Adam Taylor1:47
5."The Kiss"Adam Taylor2:20
6."The Stroke"Billy Squier3:39
7."Gawd Above"John Fullbright3:34
8."The Decision"Adam Taylor1:36
9."Forward"Adam Taylor1:04
10."Violet's Song"JD & The Straight Shot3:51
11."Can't Keep It Inside"Benedict Cumberbatch1:19
12."End Credits"Aníbal Kerpel4:55
13."And Then They're Here"Anibal Kerpel1:09
14."Barb Balcony/Street Beater (aka Sanford & Son Theme)"Anibal Kerpel2:15
Total length:39:41

An album of Santaolalla's score was released digitally on January 3, 2014.[41]

No.TitleLength
1."August Osage County (Main Theme)"0:47
2."The Fields"2:01
3."Arrival"1:51
4."Impermanence"3:03
5."Riding"1:04
6."Lost"1:08
7."Running Free"1:47
8."Morning"1:34
9."Family Visits"0:49
10."Diagnosis"1:23
11."Back At The House"0:37
12."Crossing The Line"1:24
13."August Osage County (Complete)"4:56
14."A New Beginning"2:02
Total length:24:26

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  2. ^ "2013 Feature Film Study" (PDF). FilmL.A. Feature Film Study. May 2014. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 4, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  3. ^ "August: Osage Country (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  4. ^ "August: Osage County Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  5. ^ "August: Osage County". Time Out London. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  6. ^ "TheVine - 'August: Osage County' is a mess - Life & pop culture, untangled". Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  7. ^ "Director John Wells Talks "August: Osage County"". ComingSoon.
  8. ^ "Julia Roberts And Meryl Streep To Team In 'August: Osage County' For John Wells". 30 September 2010.
  9. ^ a b "George Clooney Brings Star Power to Oklahoma As He Films New Movie 'August: Osage County' (PHOTOS)".
  10. ^ "Abigail Breslin & Juliette Lewis Join 'August: Osage County' With Julia Roberts & Meryl Streep". Indiewire. July 20, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  11. ^ "Glamour". 3 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Toronto film festival 2013: the full line-up". The Guardian. London. July 23, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  13. ^ Lambert, Christine (2013), "August: Osage County TIFF premiere photos", DigitalHit.com
  14. ^ "'August: Osage County' Averages Solid $35K in Limited Box-Office Debut". TheWrap. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  15. ^ "August: Osage County". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 7, 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  16. ^ "August: Osage County". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  17. ^ Brooks, Brian (December 29, 2013). "Specialty Box Office: 'Lone Survivor' & 'August: Osage County' Bow OK In Limited Release". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  18. ^ "2014 Oscar Nominees". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. January 16, 2014. Archived from the original on January 10, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  19. ^ Kemp, Stuart (December 13, 2013). "'American Hustle' Dominates Australian Academy's International Award Noms". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  20. ^ "AARP Names '12 Years a Slave' Best Movie for Grownups". AFI. January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  21. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (January 10, 2014). "'12 Years a Slave,' 'Captain Phillips,' 'Gravity' Among ACE Eddie Award Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  22. ^ "Art Directors Guild Nominations Announced". The Hollywood Reporter. January 9, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  23. ^ Reynolds, Simon; Harris, Jamie (January 8, 2014). "BAFTA Film Awards 2014 - nominations in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  24. ^ "The Britannia Awards: Benedict Cumberbatch site". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). September 4, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  25. ^ 19th Critics' Choice Awards
  26. ^ Long, Tom (December 9, 2013). "Detroit Film Critics Society nominates top films". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  27. ^ "Golden Globes Nominations: The Full List". Variety. January 11, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  28. ^ "Golden Globe Awards Winners". Variety. January 12, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  29. ^ Feinberg, Scott (October 7, 2013). "'August: Osage County' Ensemble to Be Honored at Hollywood Film Awards (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  30. ^ Walsh, Jason (January 15, 2014). "Sound Editors Announce 2013 Golden Reel Nominees". Variety. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  31. ^ "'Gravity' and '12 Years a Slave' lead MPSE Golden Reel Awards nominations". HitFix. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  32. ^ McDonnell, Brandy (January 7, 2014). "Oklahoma Film Critics Circle names "Her" best film of the year". The Oklahoman. Chris Reen. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  33. ^ "Phoenix Film Critics Society 2013 Award Nominations". Phoenix Film Critics Society. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  34. ^ "Phoenix Film Critics Society 2013 Awards". Phoenix Film Critics Society. December 17, 2013. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  35. ^ Kilday, Gregg (December 2, 2013). "Satellite Awards: '12 Years a Slave' Leads Film Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  36. ^ Kilday, Gregg (December 11, 2013). "Screen Actors Guild Awards: '12 Years a Slave' leads Screen Actors Guild nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  37. ^ Stone, Sasha (December 9, 2013). "The St. Louis Film Critics Nominations". Awards Daily. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  38. ^ "The 2013 WAFCA Awards". Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association. December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  39. ^ "WGA Awards 2014: Complete list of winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. January 30, 2014. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  40. ^ August: Osage County Soundtrack AllMusic. Retrieved March 9, 2014
  41. ^ August: Osage County - Original Score Music, retrieved 2015-12-27
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