August: Osage County, 2013 was directed by John Wells, who is an experienced producer and serial writer, but not a very experienced director. This is a film adaptation of the play by Tracy Letts, who wrote the script himself. The cast, led by Meryl Streep, is great, and that’s the main virtue of the film. The film is a family drama. Before our eyes after the death (suicide) of the head of the family, it finally falls apart, it is not even clear how it was held, albeit nominally, until now, but then all the skeletons fell out of the cabinets, everything turned out to be even worse than it could be imagined. I will not retell the plot, about Meryl Streep I have already mentioned, it is great, but here Julia Roberts in an unusual role, Ewan McGregor recognized with difficulty. In my opinion, the director limped a bit at times, but the plays are not easy to film. After reading about the fact that dubbing is bad, I looked in one voice voice, at least the original voices were heard. I recommend it.
The wrong movies and actors are often awarded Oscars.
The film is based on a play by Tracy Lets. Famous cast, which showed the skill of unprecedented heights and excellent plot make August one of the best films of 2013.
Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hot August. In the Westons family disappears Beverly - the head of the family (Sam Shepard). On this occasion, the whole family gathers in their father’s house. His daughters arrive: Barbara (Julia Roberts) with her husband (Ewan McGregor) and daughter (Abigail Braslin); Ivy (Juliana Nicholson) and Karen (Juliet Lewis) with fiancé Steve (Delmot Mulroney), as well as their aunt MatyFey (Margo Martindale) with husband Charles (Chris Cooper) and their son Charlie (Benedict Cumberbatch). In the house they are waiting for their wife Beverly and the mother of their common daughters - Violet and housekeeper of Indian origin Jonna. At first, no one attaches importance to the disappearance of Beverly, since this is not the first such case for them, but after arriving there, they do not even know what this general collection will turn out for them. Old resentments will surface, much will be said of what has boiled over the years in the souls and hearts of relatives and old skeletons will emerge from the closets of each family member, revealing secrets that were previously in the shadows for many years. This August will forever change the lives of everyone present, regardless of their desire.
I don’t know how to describe my misunderstanding of how unfair the distribution of awards and attention among film and actors in Hollywood is. In 2013, Jennifer Lawrence won an Oscar for her role in My Boyfriend is Psycho. Upon learning about this, I was puzzled: how could this happen and what is unusual or outstanding about this role? The actress is certainly not without talent, but Oscar? That's weird. But even more strange is that for their roles in the film “August” 2013 Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts received only nominations, and the awards never received. For a second, this is Meryl Streep, an actress of the first magnitude, whose performance is always a joy for the eyes, whose roles throughout her career the language will not turn to be bad, the multifaceted Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, a younger colleague, but no less experienced and long ago proved that she can almost any image. Just nominations? And this for the best roles of the decade performed by some of the strongest actresses of cinema? What about Chris Cooper, Margot Martindale, Sam Shepard, Ewan McGregor, Julianne Nicholson, Benedict Cumberbatch or Juliette Lewis? Did any of them play poorly in this movie? No. These are real professionals who managed to make the film without any active actions on the screen and in one location so powerful and attractive spectacle that while watching it, you can not take your eyes off it. Why are there only dialogue? And that's just two nominations? And The Wolf of Wall Street, released around the same time, which is an absolutely immoral spectacle from scenes 18+ and agitation for the use of drugs, alcohol and all kinds of illegal substances, disguised as the genre of biography and does not carry any cinematic value, collected a box office, many times higher than the fees of August, as well as 5 Oscar nominations and two Golden Globes, one of which DiCaprio still received for best male role. Is that fair? Nope. This is a “spit in the face” of film art and a real shame for film critics.
As a result, August is one of the best films of 2013 and one of the most powerful and realistic family dramas, tearing the heart apart with its dialogue and events, and at the same time causing genuine and sincere delight in the magnificent plot and its excellent implementation. Even though he did not receive the deserved awards in his time, I give him credit and bet:
10 out of 10
The painting “August”, about which many contradictory reviews have already been written - from the point of view of an inexperienced viewer.
After watching, you want to think, discuss and think again, intensely straining your spiritual strength.
There is a category of films that leave behind an aftertaste, not clearly teaching the audience, but as if gently conveying the meaning that everyone is free to interpret in their own way.
August left me with a swarm of thoughts on conflicting topics. The problem of a mother (Meryl Streep), who once alienated her children and is not able to normally express her love for them, with every phrase not only wounding, but also revealing new problems of family relations, makes you feel the imminent collapse that has already occurred in the formal “family”.
This common scene with many faces not only touched, but overturned in me the sense of integrity, which should accompany the family atmosphere.
A failed relationship, like a broken vase, is the central subject of the story. And all overcomes the question - is it possible to collect fragments and repair what was once unified?
The answer to this question is determined by people and their habits. During viewing, this influence of old habits of behavior is striking to the extreme.
How can you get out of the comfort of your stereotypes for the sake of loved ones?
Is it possible to forgive insults inflicted in the past?
And, most importantly, is it possible to change a person for the better with the power of care and love, when it is so important?
Everyone decides for themselves these questions, and they found their answer in this case.
But what's certain is that the film influenced me. And I suggest you come to your conclusion by looking at it.
When such grief, plus suddenness, plus everyone came with their own problems, of course, the bacchanalia begins. Secrets emerge, human demons come out, all problems escalate to apogee.
But it doesn’t start with that.
The first shots - and you see the amazing Meryl Streep in the role of the old professor's wife, who has gone a little bit. Extravagance suits her. And it was amazing to see her not slick with perfect angles, but really aged, but much more earthly woman.
Problems with her husband in old age, probably the result of acquired grievances and claims. The husband brings home an assistant, and the wife is unhappy. She doesn’t need a woman at home.
But as I understand it, this is his last act of care.
Then all the events revolve around his person.
But the main character is Meryl Streep. And then the second chord comes the heroine of Julia Roberts. This tandem is already roof-bearing. And you could leave only two of them in the frame, the film would take place.
But, of course, other heroes come into the frame, the children of this elderly couple come together, another family comes. Each with his own character and vision of the world. And it begins: "It's time to find a man for yourself," "You're not a kid tyranny," and so on. By the way, the role of negligent immature and disappointed mom guy plays... tadam! Benedict Camberbatch. This is not his role at all, but he looks so organically in him that you begin to believe him for the second minute!
Of course, all family skeletons come out. All grievances become causes for conflict. Disputes are on the verge of scandal and sometimes even cross this line.
It’s really hard, but sometimes it’s fun to watch. Where to laugh and where to think.
As a result, the film leaves a heavy aftertaste and bitterness of unresolved grievances.
Everyone was looking for the moral right not to care for an elderly mother. And everyone found it for themselves. The film very well shows modern values: parents put their lives on the comfort of children, and children in care only for their comfort were not so grateful.
But even their lives were not built properly.
My favorite character is an Indian maid. The one who behaved best showed himself to be a reliable man with principles and convictions.
Of course, the film is worth watching for cast and acting. The plot is not too new to peck at. And the picture is going down. Little aesthetic.
Amazing drama with the magnificent Meryl Streep in the title role. The film is not for a relaxed evening with a cup of tea, it is very heavy, stuffy, requiring reflection and reasoning. The director surprisingly managed to convey the atmosphere against which the action takes place - one of the southernmost states of the United States Oklahoma, a sultry haze, 108 degrees Fahrenheit. And a whole tangle of long-standing grievances, tragedies, misunderstandings that are destined to unravel this August in Osage County.
Having received news of the suicide of the head of the family, a poet and an alcoholic with the experience of Beverly, adult daughters - Barbara (Julia Roberts), Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) and Karen (Juliet Lewis) come to the father's house. There they meet their mother - Violetta (Meryl Streep) a woman very, very peculiar. Violetta has a difficult character, and now he is aggravated by the disease and the need to constantly take various drugs, including psychotropic. No wonder, daughters and in the old days not too pitying mother, now not able to communicate with her.
Not too good for the girls themselves. There are serious problems behind external well-being. Barbara's husband left the family, confused with a young mistress, daughter Jeannie gets away from her hands. Ivy is not married and secretly meets with her cousin, Karen marries a womanizer and a womanizer who does not put her in a penny. Mourning events bring to light long-buried family secrets, torment relations between relatives. They understand that the feelings that bind them are not at all like close and trusting. 'Just a random set of DNA' - so says about the beloved relatives of Ivy, one of the sisters.
Barbara is the smartest and toughest of the daughters Violetta and Beverly, not for nothing she was the favorite of her father. It is given to her to realize that in the hatred surrounding them, there is a piece of guilt of everyone. Only by changing yourself can the world change. This statement is true for any family, anywhere in the world.
Great movie. There's a lot to think about.
You know, there's plotless painting, and there's plotless cinema. But if in this case, the paintings hook us with their visual component, then the films emphasize emotional perception. They build an invisible bridge between the viewer and the overall idea of the film, reinforcing this with strong acting work, thus creating a certain mood. Surprisingly, modern storyless cinema finds its manifestation in family dramas. If earlier, for example, in the paintings of Jean-Luc Godard (the same “Mad Pierrot”), the author concentrated on analyzing the reflection of a particular hero, now the picture is full of characters, where everyone is in a state of internal crisis and introspection. This “massiveness”, according to the creators, only increases the loneliness and tragedy of a certain person. The impenetrable wall of misunderstanding, gradually replacing the crisis of self-identification, becomes the main problem of the modern world and is now the central theme of plotless cinema.
“August: Osage County” is a classic example of such a picture, where passions boil almost without pause for two hours, but it is almost impossible to retell them after watching. The viewer sympathizes with the characters, absorbs emotions broadcast through the screen, is surprised by the sincere play of the actors and, without noticing it, remains alone with his thoughts. The film sets the stage for reflection, that is its main task. It ends with almost no denouement, but it is not necessary. The viewer thinks up everything himself, and then goes into his own reflections associated with the film only indirectly.
After the sudden death of the head of the family, all the children who have long grown up return home for the funeral. They meet a very eccentric mother, now a widow, suffering from a rare type of cancer. These few days, a divided family tries to clarify the relationship, but their differences of character and resentment of the past do not allow them to part with the world. And to top it off, everyone asks: Why did my father die? Did he kill himself? Or was he killed?
The film does not have a clear conclusion, climax and denouement, all the characters constantly swear, there is almost no scene where there would be an exclusively constructive dialogue. But these quarrels reveal inner conflict much better than the most frank and calm conversation. The film is absolutely beautiful, it skillfully switches from theme to theme, from hero to hero and dilutes these transitions with beautiful, but very cold views of nature. A scene where a mother played by Meryl Streep runs across a field during a severe emotional breakdown, followed by her daughter (Julia Roberts) talks about everything. Gestures, small actions of the characters in the intervals between clarifying the relationship contradict the words they said themselves, but reflect their true impulses. They often say, “I don’t understand you!” which is their biggest tragedy. They all want to be heard, but they don’t want to hear. Or worse, they are afraid to do it. Each dialogue remains open, and this distances the characters from each other more and more. Gestures, glances, give them hope for solving problems, but then again sounds “I don’t understand” – and it all starts again. A kind of circular responsibility and allegory of modern society on the example of a large family.
Of course, this inconsistency of images and situations looks authentic thanks to excellent acting work. Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch and Sam Shepherd come together and create a magnificent chemistry between all the characters and, as I would say, the unity of their disunity captures the attention of the viewer. It is impossible to single out one, everyone complements each other. Perhaps this film without this cast would have failed. Fortunately, this did not happen.
It’s hard to write about this movie, but it’s very easy to feel. And that's even more important.
The standard of acting. And you know what? No Oscars! For “My boyfriend is crazy” – Oscar for the main female, and Meryl Streep for the role of the decade – nomination. It's not a joke, it's a spit in the face. Yeah, I know what Lawrence got a year early. But it's crazy. In August, at least two actresses gave the top - Streep and Roberts. And Cumberbatch as a shaggy, cute slob? What are Margot Martingale and Chris Cooper doing? God, just watch the first 15 minutes, you won’t be able to pull off.
What a review! It all came out right away, didn't it? Yeah.
What is August? It is a chamber drama with brilliant dialogues and chic characters. It's almost "Perfect Strangers," but here's where humor can't beat tragedy. This is a duel of Streep and Roberts, mother and daughter, a fight for the title of alpha wolf in women of the same blood. Thick, strong, a little crazy. These are amazing secondary characters of varying depth, but with an obligatory tear. Ivy, who sacrificed all her life, is like a Labrador in a pack of shepherds. Continuously sweating without air conditioning Faye, who from a comic aunt at the beginning of the film, towards the end will turn into a lump that will resist the blows of any waves. Her husband, Charlie, is a wonderfully good man like Jon Snow. Who doesn't know anything. A unique role from Benedict. A person who is guilty only by the fact of his birth.
And again, this is Meryl Streep's character. A mother longing for children. A real bitch, condescending to litter. Bullshit harpy. Broken old lady. The true don of his family in any condition. A loving widow in mourning and the devil who drove her husband to the grave. This is the Strip.
I didn’t mention the script or the director. Together with an acting symphony, they create the best film of 2013. Yeah, better than gravity.
Very strong drama, very multi-layered and ambiguous.
The secrets of family members are revealed before us, and each one is more terrible than the previous one. The viewer seems to slide into the pit of human passions, weaknesses, mistakes, and then climbs back, without illusions, but with a certain relief.
Characters played perfectly, each of them want to pause and think.
Such versatile, complex, they want to study. And the author gives us this opportunity in full, not forgetting any of them. Not flat, cardboard or vice versa cartoon characters, but full, strange, very vital. Honestly, I fell in love with each of them and am immensely grateful to the actors for such a pleasure. I don’t even want to resort to the old saying that in every person there are both good and bad. My aunt said, “I am more than that, sweetheart.” There is more to me than that.
Well, a very beautiful, atmospheric picture, landscapes, house, its decoration - all so leisurely, with a touch of sadness and reflection. Where else can drama happen, where it is not here to reveal secrets, to find out relationships, where else you can escape with such a clear anticipation of a new life?
9 out of 10
Not the most positive film, but it looks in one breath and leaves a strong impression. You will not like extremely romantic natures, for whom the theme of family and marriage is surrounded by roses and unicorns. This picture shows the reverse side of the coin - family secrets, scandals and tragedies. And the personal tragedy of each hero of the picture. Everyone failed and did not turn out as they wanted, everyone was disappointed and all family members have to face not only their fears and sadness, but also the feelings of relatives.
Awesome acting. Honestly, even the jaw was hanging - is it really possible to play your roles like this? For the first time I saw Meryl Streep not in the role of a femme fatale or boss, but in the role of a sick and dependent grandmother, whose life did not work out very well and it is very scary to admit it. And Julia Roberts — without her usual smile, very serious. These two women shocked to the core.
In general, if you want to see something deep, gloomy, but very strong - I recommend this film.
9 out of 10
Heroes are exhausted from the heat, from the suffocating atmosphere of an old house filled with ancient furniture. Stickers on the windows, closed curtains, which energetic aunt opens at the very beginning of the film. And light shines on everything hidden in the darkness.
No one hurts like their loved ones. And the worst thing is when you find yourself in the role of a villain. See how you become the one who fled from these places (who only came up with the idea to settle in these lifeless places?). Everyone is trying to run anyway. And if someone succeeds by closing his eyes to the obvious or breaking with his family, then others have nowhere to run, because you can not run away from yourself. And there is only a blinding sun around.
It's a beautiful movie. Great acting, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts are inimitable.
August or I didn't notice that my husband wanted to drown
Welcome to the world of concise resumes.
So, for those of you who haven’t seen it, it’s a film about people who are related to each other, not really. There is little action in the film, but a lot of conversation, even more emotion. In fact, a beautiful portrayal of emotions, thanks to the play of amazing actors (here you and Streep, and Roberts, and Cumberbatch), forced me to put a good assessment. But nothing more. The plot has a good potential to be intriguing and even mysterious, if it had retained the strong core that emerged in the beginning. We are told at once: “Mysteriously the head of the family died, but this is not the question...” Great start, don't you think?
There are many characters in the film, the narrative tries to tell us the story of each, interweaving it with the main story of the person we see in the film for 5 minutes. That’s what I thought too much. I got lost in the fact that in this film the main thing is a retired father, or a son-loser, or a granddaughter with a lot of teenage problems. And that's bad. I like it when everything secondary is strung on the thread of the primary (as in the movie The Second Life of Ove), and not sprayed around like water from a spray gun. If you want to accommodate the stories of everyone, it would be better to choose the format of the series (like Game of Thrones), but not the full meter.
Therefore, in the middle of the series, I was even dull, looked with difficulty, only the emotional maneuvers of Julia Roberts helped to keep interest.
If I didn’t watch it again, I would fall asleep.
The film is based on the real events of many families of this world. Remnants of the past/family dramas/dislikes and hatred/generational gaps—say, typical and standard. But...
The genius of this film in the social roles of each hero. A husband and wife who have lived in the outback all their lives, base their family on agreements. He is a calm kindness, drinking every hour. She is a woman who remembers money even when she is reckless. Their 3 daughters make typical mistakes and suffer from their own character. The eldest (Barbara) is lucky, because the priority of the first was able to escape from her father’s house, but still did not escape from her mother’s bad character. The average (Karen) is stupid, so what's the big deal? The youngest (Ivy/Ivy) is the last in her father’s house, who did not allow herself to leave, and forced herself to take care of her parents, who, hmm, do not need her.
Auntie is a nasty woman in her 50s who has not gone far from her sister (the mother of her daughters); her husband is a good “rag” who scored on everything that happens around him; their son is clearly aware of himself as a “loser”, as his mother says.
As typical, the development of the social roles of all the characters deserves applause. Who do they really belong to each other: relatives or still a pile of ashes from a burnt family?
The whole film is just a short fragment of the shared pastime of the heroes in one house, i.e. the last flames of this family.
What's the point? And the meaning of the film is that children should be independent (however, of course, parents can not leave a very fine line) and take from parents only those qualities that will help them build their family, and not destroy everything and everything.
Roughly hung by parents labels take root for a long time, so to speak. Oh, yeah, the only thing that's clear is that this August was their last in the family.
These films win positive reviews, high awards and recognition. The film, which will not come to everyone’s taste, but the heat of passion that broke out during the dialogue, will give a head start to many epic action films.
Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Julianne Nicholson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dermot Mulroney and Juliette Lewis - an interesting company gathered on the screen. Cause: Death of a family member.
When a family is separated, when everyone has their own secrets, when every smile hides a lie, people have something to say to each other. Let them talk about Oscars! Meryl Streep's brilliant acting allows you to understand the essence of the conflict. When grown children and their soul mates get together, it’s time to tell them the truth. The main weapon of the picture is the disclosure of all maps, after a long period of time. When the main character starts a conversation, you are not interested in anything else. The shock, which is due to many factors: the elderly man, the death of her husband, the pills and the company of relatives she hates. Words can hurt to the core. What happens on the screen is impossible to convey, when all the characters begin to torment conscience for secrets and lies, Meryl Streep does not spare anyone. Its performance blows with such energy that the audience’s hair will stand on end.
It seems like a normal dinner scene with family. But it'll stick in your memory for a long time. The conflict of the family, bringing out all the secrets. I must admit that the company is well-chosen. Behind the huge sword Streep, with which she struck the audience, there were plots less euphoric, but still poisonous, sharp and truthful. The picture must be felt and understood. Intrigues, scandals and attacks, marked by loud screams, can reach the coldest hearts. How many secrets? Only the viewer moved away from the fight at lunch, as new battles arise: sisters, relatives of bloodsuckers, accuse each other, revealing their secrets and stunning everyone. What was the reason? Father's death. This is the basis of the internal conflict, each character defends their rights.
In addition to Meryl Streep, the acting was impressed by Julia Roberts and Benedict Cumberbatch. They're all sorts of characters, Julia's high level (like screen time) and average Benedict have allowed you to look at talent in a new light. Magnificent, emotional performance, a very clear transmission of all the touches and awkwardness of their heroes.
The picture does not fade, does not sag. One conflict is followed by another, a terrible truth follows the sharp lines, renunciation and betrayal follow the kinship differences – it is the cell of society. A large cell of society is a family within which false, hypocritical personalities, naive and frightened individuals, sincere and loving slobs have gathered. The disorderly movement of these particles, these individual people in a large circle creates unthinkable chaos that destroys the fate of all the characters of the picture. Just the truth, there was no more strength to endure.
The characters find themselves in their own small, lonely world, where everyone is very dear to each other and at the same time hated. No one can help them solve their many problems, which all multiply as the plot develops.
You need to watch this film with a clear intention to learn something new about life, maybe learn from the mistakes of others. Psychological, realistic film. I recommend watching not for fans of evening screenings, but for movie fans, intellectual people who understand not only the diversity of the cast, but can understand the essence of the problem.
It is no secret that perfect families do not exist by definition. Every family has its own omissions, its quarrels, its skeletons in the closet. But despite all the shortcomings, family remains the only place that unites us, instructs and gives strength to live on. This idea is the basis of the tragicomedy “August”.
Synopsis In a tiny sleepy town lost in the middle of the vast prairies of Oklahoma, tragedy forces to gather in the common house of members of the large family of Westons who came to honor the memory of the recently committed suicide head of the family. However, with the arrival of relatives who have not seen each other for several years, old secrets and resentments emerge, leading to unexpected scandals.
No matter how corny it may sound, but such a bright star cast obviously provided the film with a talented and convincing play of actors. First of all, I would like to note the unsurpassed Meryl Streep in the role of Violet Weston, a drug addict slowly dying of cancer, who, having lived a long and difficult life, in a difficult marriage, learned with all the depth of cynicism to tell people to face only the truth, no matter how cruel it may seem. Julia Roberts’ performance as Violet’s eldest daughter Barbara, who must muster all her strength and will to make it clear to family members that she is now “the boss.”
Director John Wells draws before us not a banal family drama in which family members forgive each other and live happily ever after, but a real human tragedy in which, due to secrets and omissions, the remains of the family gradually collapse in front of the viewer. The director makes it clear that every hero has serious problems. Just someone decides to put them in the background, and someone decides to take all the garbage out of the house. As a result, at first glance, a light family drama develops into a deep psychological thriller, at the end of which the characters will have to make difficult decisions about their future and the future of this family.
An experienced viewer will notice that the script of the film is based on a play that gives an abundance of dialogue. It is important to note that from the usual family drama “August” is distinguished by an abundance of unexpected, sometimes shocking plot twists, in which various family secrets are revealed, turning the lives of the heroes upside down. An important link in all this is Barbara, who herself has to put up with the upcoming divorce from her husband and the seething adolescence of her daughter. Despite this, she makes every effort to take the bull by the horns, make a stubborn mother stop taking drugs and prove to others and herself that she is a strong person in life.
Result Perhaps August will not reveal anything new. Perhaps an experienced viewer will think that somewhere he has seen this. But still, the presence of a plot with unexpected, sometimes tragic turns and the complete absence of a happy ending make you think about serious things, which proves that August is a good movie.
10 out of 10
Even misfortunes in families are similar – this is the eternal misfortune of fathers and children. After all, with relatives, “home”, we are always the most difficult – because we do not choose them. And you have to put up with their shortcomings. Or not put up with it.
Probably, this is a review - not for the production, but for the play, because there is still a very good film adaptation, which I highly recommend.
In general, the whole action is very viscous, like a toffee in the mouth - reminds of hot August, the windlessness does not allow the heat and what is happening to dispel - as there is no opportunity to get out of family problems in principle: you can just wave your hand, you can try to fix something, but everything will not be resolved, on the contrary, only more tension will settle between loved ones, even more offenses, misunderstanding, intrigues - valves that may one day break.
Since school days, I have been very worried about the topic of fathers and children, here it lies on the surface, deep into the funnel are questions of disappointment in children, masks worn on children, and the futility of trying to show a person his mistakes in the hope that he will improve. He doesn’t want to, he doesn’t care who you are. Only, leaving such a destructive relationship with a stranger, you will not get as many curses in your address as leaving relationships with family members.
The film is very touching and touching. And, you know, there is no lie at all! Thanks to Letts for the script! Pulitzer Prizes aren't just given. Yes, and the actors perfectly played their roles in the film, Oscars are also not just given away!
I called it touching because the scenes of relationships in the film, so familiar and tired of us in life, such as parenting children, gathering relatives, looking at family photos, clarifying relationships, show us that the desire to listen, patience, care, the ability to forgive, love (yes, it is also present in all hypostases) is the greatest work, and it illustrates with its magnificent play a beautiful, just atomic-powerful cast, from Meryl Streep to the actress who played the servant. And that's touching!
But when it hurts you, not only physically, but mentally, you try to blame the person around you. And next to you, as you know, the closest and dearest people. And everyone has their own pain! You're trying to get away from her. So in life. It's not that simple, it's not that simple! Someone will say, nonsense, - the propaganda of drugs, pedophilia, intolerant attitude to the Native population & #39; Look into your soul, maybe there is a penetrating August rain?
P.S.
By the way, recalled the film ' Adam's rib' with Churikova in the title role. Look at the same area.
Yes, it is, not just “August”, as in the box office and all the tables of ranks. Mainly to distinguish, I think. Because there is another “August”, in the 96th shot by Anthony Hopkins (to the one about which now, a hand as a producer put no less talented and popularly beloved George Clooney). So, that “August” is an adaptation of Chekhov’s “Uncle Vani”. Good movie, they say. By the way, Hopkins composed music for him. A talented person is talented in many ways, the Hopkins waltz performed by the symphony orchestra became one of the bright impressions of spring.
And there was another film adaptation of Chekhov, overfed which in childhood (everyone showed endlessly on TV for no reason), more than once gave herself the word that “Mechanical piano” of good will neither under hypnosis nor under anesthesia I will not watch. Well, the Mikhalkovo movie guy. So the strings came out. The Duchess in Alice says: “Everything has its own morality, you just need to be able to find it.” I have a thing on the strings, a sinner. From everything to reach out connections, look for and find fastening threads and rejoice in finding.
It is a pity that it was promised then, the power of pledges, even through ignorance of data, should not be underestimated. I will revisit it when I am mature. A heroic effort will be required. But yesterday’s film with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts (Malroney, McGregor and Cumberbatch, yes, the perfect constellation) vividly reminded exactly that movie. Brownian movement of people arbitrarily united under one roof. Every person, everyone is interesting, bright, where it is difficult. Everyone carries the burden of the past: victories, disappointments, sorrows and resentments (feel how much more negatively colored?).
In addition, everyone is braided in incredibly complex tangles of relationships that continue to drag on even tighter as the film progresses. It is not for nothing that the hero Ewan McGregor said about the Gordian knot, which he came to help cut his wife. Ex-wife, though not officially divorced. He lives with a young girl for a long time, and now together for relatives: We're fine, we'll have a couple of days. No need to cut. Untangle. Slowly, patiently, occasionally brushing on broken during the nail and licking the blood, protruding at the site of the cut with a sharp thread.
Heroes do it. By polishing Chekhov’s unfitness for life with North American sanity and positive thinking. And they are completely Chekhov people. Every diamond, but women are better. Forgive me the gender chauvinism in the film. Brighter, stronger, more suffering, more understanding. Beautiful. They're so good you can't take your eyes off. Unlike the main character, they choose life.
Life is a pattern to which one seeks. Marry a classmate, live a long life together, reach professional heights, raise happy rich children and, if lucky, leave in an instant. Morality, culture, art and society cultivate this stereotype, passing it down from generation to generation. We, like zombies, absorb these attitudes and strive unsuccessfully for the mirage of the ideal. If it does not work, we beat ourselves, chewing out the brain with self-excuses and plunge into its convolutions like worms, looking for the wrong moves.
Three sisters, paying tribute to fashion, together with the cavaliers come to the funeral of their father in a country house that is about to collapse. From the first minutes, the director makes it clear that the film is not aesthetic and there will be no template happy ending. It is hard to watch and only by the memorial dinner you begin to see. The house lives with these characters. Their spirit hovers in his empty rooms with the August heat and nothing changes. Only time adds wrinkles and ailments. Human vices are stronger than any cement and nails. Drug addiction, alcoholism, incest, greed, suicide, pedophilia, parental despotism and cynicism as skeletons take turns coming out of dusty cabinets. Society doesn’t have to be that way, but it is. This is a look at him without clothes, without gloss, without skin. It is what it is and we are what we are. And it's neither good nor bad. “Because there is a template for life, but no one can follow it,” said the middle sister, whose cowboy tried to rape a fourteen-year-old cousin the night after the owner’s funeral.
Will society be better? Nobody knows. As the older sister, who is a kind of family locomotive, said: “If we knew the future, we could not get out of bed...”
A film is a citation book that you can write in a notebook with a pencil to look at yourself and ask yourself the question: “Who are you in this world?”
With the voice of a cancer patient who is crazy about her sleeping pills, he reveals secrets that are usually hidden. And we forgive her because she's crazy. But sometimes, listening to stories, you come to the conclusion that the real world is different from the one to which we aspire and which is built by society.
I was not interested in him as soon as he came out.
Now you have your hands.
This is the movie for which I so sincerely and tenderly loved Miramax and the brothers W (iners) einstein.
Of course. This is Meryl Streep's benefit. She is, of course, absolutely incomparable, pure Stanislavsky - Chekhov, a hero in the circumstances proposed.
But such a powerful effect would not be without absolutely sparkling, shoot what beautiful (always! always!) Chris Cooper and Margot Martindale, without Sam Shepherd (very little on screen, but how powerful!), and as charming as usual, always a little weird-childish-fucky but extremely organic Juliette Lewis. To give Julia Roberts credit, she’s finally learned to play and it’s probably the best job she’s ever done. With age, she has become much more technical and dramatic (in fact, and the role is not so simple, you can not fake it here), it is wonderful.
McGregor is there for furniture, no role drawing, no real character, but it's always nice to look at him. He is very talented when he has something to play.
It's nice to watch Mulroney, but there's nothing to play. Most of his acting work – “you just walk back and forth”, which is offensive, he clearly has something to say, he is a box with a secret, and a child seducer can be any pretty boy to portray.
As for “Sherlock Holmes”, then I am biased, therefore, probably biased (in relation to him always): and terrible, and against the background of such “cinema figures” neither a candle to God nor a poker line. He annoys me as much as his mother-Matti Faye, who sticks studs of sarcasm into him all her life, which makes him such a loser.
This is a very strong and personal film, which, obviously, is understandable to everyone, for “every hut has its own rattles”, and behind each seemingly prosperous family there is so much pain and suffering, and unfulfilled plans, and broken hearts, and castles in the air, scattered to dust, when in the dry remnant there is only pain, loneliness, illness, old age and death. Someone manages to “hold his face”, someone wants to prove that he is still a wow at almost fifty and chases illusions in the form of young maidens, someone just goes into himself and memories, someone smokes weed or swallows pills, and someone kills himself at once. Sad as it is, this is life. You have to accept it as it is. And it is approximately the same – in Ust-Uryupinsk, which, as in this case, in Oklahoma. The scenery is better, and the pain and existential anguish are the same. It is good if the pain and fatigue from life are compensated by the ease of perception and the ability to soar above the ordinary without the use of synthetic or natural “special means”. The Westons and their children did not, it is a pity.
PS. Wells only saw The Company Men, with Mr. Affleck and all the same delightful Cooper. But most importantly, he was one of the executive producers of Savage Grace, and it's worth it. Operator Adriano Goldman previously filmed Jane Eyre with Vasikovskaya and Fussi, worked here wonderfully. OST is very stingy and this is very fitting. But in general, the material - the script is something (and, apparently, the novel itself) is great, this allowed to collect such a star cast, which worked by 200%.
Have you ever thought that your life is shit and your family is so crazy that you want to run and not look back? Take a look at August and believe me, you are still fine.
There are only ten. Two sisters, their children, grandchildren. And the culprit. The head of a family who disappears and gathers excited relatives all under one roof. And, oh yes! They have something to say! They are without great love and trepidation relate to each other and see little. As one daughter put it, “sets of cells that are by chance genetically related.” But the hour came when they all came together, and the boiling water came.
Meet Violet, the missing man's wife. He suffers from cancer and takes pills to alleviate his suffering. Lots of pills. Which makes you crazy. Her three daughters. One marriage is at odds, the other is in love with her cousin, and the third is so frivolous and promiscuous in men that every year she has a new one. This time another macho, who does not miss a skirt (not even the skirts of the 14-year-old bride's niece!), smokes grass and, in general, seems not familiar with the rules of decency. Violet's sister Matty Faye with a very good husband and an awkward, disappointing son.
Everyone has a skeleton in their closet. Violet knows everything about everyone. Nothing can be hidden from her. It's scary. And she pulls out those skeletons when nobody's waiting for them. Then when you're particularly vulnerable, she'll attack you with her truth. Everyone attacks each other, and each defends himself as best he can. Real verbal battles break out, and sometimes not only verbal, heh-heh.
And in this ensemble of roles, everyone plays without falsehood. There is no doubt that this madness is real. One of the best cast members I've ever seen. Awesome playfulness and consonance. They are not two or three people, they are ten. The solo part in four hands here is performed by two brilliant actresses. Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts One is great, the other is on the way. They play Violet and Barbara. Mother and daughter, worthy of each other. Of all the daughters, only Barbara can bring her mother to her senses and cool her ardour. Julia's good! But Meryl... How many reincarnations of this legendary woman has seen the camera!! No character is like the previous one. Does she have an elixir or something? She had a drink, and now she's not Meryl Streep, but a character. Mrs. Streep, I pray for you. Both Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor, and Blenderdick Cumberdong, all three are just charming. Even strange, in this film all the women are crazy, and the men are charming and sweet. Well, it does.
“August” is a classic tragicomedy, it is laughter and tears, it is madness in everyday life. It's Shakespeare in a modern way! One by one, skeletons fall out of closets, the second is more ridiculous than the first. The turns of relationships in this family in the best traditions of medieval comedies. While watching, you will feel that demons are dancing around you. Country blues. But it's temporary. With the final credits, you will realize that you have your own family and your own life where everything can be fine. Or already good.
I recommend everyone watch. Enjoy the ingenious acting, enjoy the cool dialogue and will be all day singing "Lay Down Sally!"
Without a description of the clouds at that time - to the point. When watching the scenes of the family feast, I was shocked by how people from different continents are similar to each other, which made me watch such a theatrical film in its entirety. The main object for observation, of course, was the “family” mentality: muscle play in front of your loved ones, the definition of the leader, the calculation of related omegas for blemishing – shown and played so similar to our family meetings that tonight I will call everyone, just because I remembered.
But the similarity with the other side of the earth was revealed even in seemingly different social conditions of the formation of personality and family among people of the postwar generation. These difficult childhoods in America and our country were not so different. We lived in dugouts and thought of cars as a miracle, but hunger, leaky boots in dung and inadequate parents from the XIX century were both. Therefore, both of them need to recoup on more less adequate descendants – to ridicule, humiliate, show who they are “really”.
In such a family, everyone is single. One poet, one strong, one child living in the modern world, one whore, one fool. Everyone is different, but the dirt from which they got out and were once dirty still binds them and makes them meet and look for the guilty for their own problems. I don’t know what this film was supposed to give, it is unlikely that its creators expected to surprise me with the similarity of people on different continents (but who knows), and the residue was unpleasant, but I do not regret the time spent.
“The family does not allow us to fall and does not allow us to stand on our feet.”
What if a director comes up with a film based on a play? Why not, only in this embodiment there are too many pitfalls. Other directors save their dying paintings with beautiful landscapes, special effects, etc. Here everything will depend on how emotionally accurate the actors will play their roles, being most of the film within the same house. Step to the right, step to the left - shooting by the spectator. Fair enough. But John Wells, I think he did his job.
The family gathers at the same table, but the occasion is, unfortunately, not a birthday or Thanksgiving. A family member dies, but since everyone has not seen each other for a long time for various reasons, the dialogues of each of them do not resemble a memorial day, rather a verbal quarrel, due to accumulated and unexpressed emotions. Everyone sitting at this table takes off their mask and ceases to appear to be what they are not. Unfortunately, the whole truth is told too late, and will not save anyone, but only drown more in their own tragedy.
Can anyone be judged here, as many people do in their negative reviews, sinning at Meryl Streep as a nasty selfish grandmother? Absolutely. But only the film 100% shows us where the legs grow. This is a film about the eternal theme of fathers and children. And for me, the main idea and meaning of this film lies in the butterfly effect. The heroine Meryl Streep very well described the reason for her uncooperative character, telling the story about cowboy boots. Once our ancestors lived very badly, and many things were hard for them, because many of them became angry at the whole world. This anger soon began to manifest itself in the upbringing of children, children did not receive the love that any child needs. The child grew up and projected the behavior of the parents in the upbringing of their children. And no matter how much we say that we do not want to be like our parents (if they were so bad), sooner or later, not everything, but some part of their approach to life will come out and spread to a greater or lesser extent to grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. And only after a few generations, with positive progress, you can completely get rid of the very anger ... from the butterfly that waved its wing. By the way, the wrong upbringing of children can cause more sad consequences, such as war, social upheavals and revolutions. The greatest villains of modern times are not born, but become with the education of parents... or the streets. But that's another story altogether. I hope I got the message I saw in the film.
This movie is worth seeing only because it plays the most beloved and famous actors. And their role in the film I will not even comment, as there is nothing to complain about. Their characters are completely different and unlike each other. They are entangled in their tragedy, and it would seem that when a family should come to the rescue, they realize that families do not, there is only a “random selection of cells”, as one of the daughters of the heroine Meryl said. And this is true, often we call relatives of people, but they are only by blood, but there is no spiritual connection, no love, no sense of duty, no attachment. You might say it's not, but I know a lot of families like this, and it's a normal life, not something out of the ordinary. And precisely because it’s too realistic, you don’t watch this movie, you’re a direct witness to this drama, being there with them.
Dislike or insufficient attention to daughters in childhood makes one too weak, another too strong and therefore unbearable, the third - a frivolous badass. Everyone’s life doesn’t work out because of their character. And they want to help, but they will not be helped, you cannot re-educate an adult. The dying mother in old age from loneliness and anticipation of death reaches the peak of her unbearability, but to accuse her, you need to be in her place. No one knows what you would do. In general, this is a film about women, and how the fates of generations are broken by the wrong upbringing. Men here play the role of scenery, they complement the image of each woman.
For those who grew up in the perfect family, this movie can feel heavy and tough because it will shake your eyes. But yes, this happens, and not only in the backyard. And after watching the movie, you have to understand only one thing – love your children and be a role model for them. And then they are more likely to love their families just as much.
9 out of 10
This is one of the few films in the last few years that left a mark on my soul.
When I saw this movie, people would sit next to me and laugh and say that never happens. I'm a little jealous of these people. Because I was rather scared when I watched it. And the further, the scarier. Because unfortunately, I know that happens. Yes, there may be some moments and a little exaggerated, but in general, there are such families and they are not few. I have no complaints about the script. Especially when it comes to the ending of the film. There could not have been another ending.
The cast in the film was brilliantly selected for me. Everyone is in their place.
Meryl Streep is simply inimitable and brilliant. Her every move, all her facial expressions, all make her believe.
Julia Roberts for me in this film revealed the other side. In my head, she was always just "Pretty." But in this film played a very dramatic role.
Even Benedict Cumberbatch, who I don’t like very much, looks organic and plays really well in this movie.
The film made a strong impression on me. Yes, he did not leave positive emotions, but this film is not designed. But he thought about his family, about his behavior in his family. Thank you for that.
The daughters of Violetta Weston return to their father’s home at the call of their parent, who is constantly intoxicated with drugs, after which a real family drama is played out, complicated by many circumstances.
Perfect movie. I think with such a cast, acting and staging, it would be possible to do without a great plot, and with it the film became simply amazing. To create such a rich, intense, atmospheric and deeply emotional cinema within the boundaries of one poorly lit house is a real talent, I think.
It would seem that in such a film, in fact, simple in terms of the plot, there can be no unexpected events and sharp turns (at least, I thought so), but there is no, I had to be surprised and open my mouth more than once.
Of course, Meryl Streep, with his simply incredible game, comes to the fore, but Julia Roberts, who also showed everything she can, keeps up with it. But the thing is, the other actors were so good that I don’t even really want to highlight the obvious stars of this movie. Absolutely each of the actors showed a great game, they all perfectly harmonized and combined with each other.
I, in principle, do not even want to delve into the problems and conclusions raised in the film, despite the fact that they were also perfectly spelled out and made you think (what are we talking about aging women and the story of boots), because everything in this film is so harmonious and closely intertwined that it does not want to disassemble into fibers, but just want to enjoy it completely.
I am excited and will definitely review it someday.
This film is a real constellation of great actors. Everyone shows a level of play to which many people grow and grow. Of course, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts stand apart - their images are stunningly believable, you want to look at them endlessly.
It mercilessly reveals the problems that exist in many families and which usually safely hide from outsiders - and from their own too. Close-looking relatives turn out to be practically strangers to each other, everyone hides everything from each other, while not shying away from poking the most expensive people in the most painful places. Here bitterness is mixed with sarcasm, and the timid ray of hope is hopelessly extinguished under the pressure of circumstances.
“August” is not so much a film as an opportunity to look into someone else’s life, compare with your own and draw conclusions: am I running in circles? Will my children receive such a complex and unnecessary legacy in the form of numerous insults and disagreements? It is never too late to change yourself and start from scratch, become a different person and rewrite the family scenario the way you need to.
Usually, after watching such films, you always especially want to make your life happy, throwing away stupid junk in the form of far-fetched problems and unplayed roles. However, in this case, the director did not reach. He didn't make the film really deep and strong. It was as if someone wanted to dive to the depths and get a pearl and instead just ran his hand across the water. There are problems of fathers and children, and at different levels, and complex relationships between sisters, and illness, and naughty teenager, and the inability to build normal relationships with men, and much more. Too much was mixed up - maybe because of this it was not possible to fully reveal all the images and create a single finished picture.
It seems interesting to watch, but there is no feeling of completeness, no desire to savor the aftertaste. The film turned out empty and liquid, like soup from an inept hostess. It is a pity that John Wells failed to create a masterpiece. It would seem that there were all possibilities.
- Where are you running, Mom? There's nowhere to run...
“Life is very long.” – T. S. Eliot
These words have some meaning, especially for Beverly, a mature man whose life seems like a protracted string of suffering, and whose past is woven with bad decisions and deeds.
A large (but not friendly) family lost its members. Between parents - Beverly (Sam Shepard) and his wife Vilet (Maryl Streep) relationship is difficult. It's hard to pinpoint the cause. Perhaps this is an understatement (a mistake of youth, about which a husband chose not to tell his wife). But we can say for sure that each of them is unhappy.
Despite the difficulties, they continue to support each other. Both suffer each other's addictions - Vilet forgives Beverly's alcohol addiction, and Beverly forgives Vilet's addiction to pills that help her cope with cancer. These are the realities of marriage – together until death do you part... well, or one of you deliberately takes his own life.
An incurable disease makes Vilet’s already complex character simply unbearable, thereby scaring off all loved ones. Unfortunately, the eldest daughter Barbara got the character of her mother. Strong, coarse and harsh in her directness - these qualities may help to cope with the hardships of life, but they will not make any man happy. Beverly, Barbara's husband Bill, and even Charlie's uncle are proof of that.
This story is the whole truth of the relationship. All family problems are exposed, all secrets are turned inside out. There is no beauty, only the undisguised truth of life.
Everyone wants to find their place in the sun. We grow out of our world as a child grows out of clothes. We grow up and leave our home in search of something more. So did two daughters – Barbara (Julia Roberts) and Karen (Juliet Lewis). They were building their lives away from their parents’ home, while a third sister, Ivy (Julianne Nicholson), chose to live alongside her parents but, as it turned out, secretly envied her sisters, who were free and, unlike her, not burdened with a sense of duty to parents who had devoted their entire lives to raising their daughters.
This is the best family drama I've ever seen. One can endlessly talk about the magnificent play of eminent actors, such as the unsurpassed Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Margot Martindale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Cooper, etc. Thanks to the skill of these actors and, of course, the brilliant plot of Tracy Letts, I believed that I saw the most ordinary family, that they are really connected by blood ties and common problems. In addition, it is worth noting the presence in the film of dialogues that make you think; the presence of ambiguous scenes, on the one hand – comic and ridiculous, on the other – tragic and such vital.
In short, I'm touched. She was so moved that she decided to write her first review of the film and express her attitude towards it. And the attitude is:
9 out of 10
Sometimes meeting a good old family on a picnic under the maples is very much like swimming in a pool with octopuses.
Such words begin the play of Tracy Letts “August”, on the basis of which in 2013 John Wells filmed the film of the same name with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in the lead roles. Analyzing this picture, it is impossible to avoid comparisons with the work of the American playwright, which in form is more holistic and detailed. In the acting there are grotesque moods, while the play insists on a realistic interpretation. Many of the characters in the film are solved superficially, although the original source immerses us in a world of deeply unhappy people that touches us and makes us empathize. In addition, many lines in the film are relegated to the background, which, in my opinion, is an omission, as, for example, almost all scenes with the participation of the maid Johnna.
The obvious engine of the whole process is the housewife Violet in the phenomenal performance of Meryl Streep. Despotic and cruel head of the family, provoking all members of the cell of society to scandalous showdowns and frank confessions. Despite the fact that often this character causes pity and sympathy in the viewer, it is she who destroys the family with her dictatorship, repelling all close people from herself. Truly tragic is the finale of the picture, where Violet calls her daughters, her husband, but no one, except for the maid Johnna, is left in the house, and she has nothing left but to fall on the shoulder of the most distant and unfamiliar person in this house, by luck who happened to be here.
The theme of the picture, relevant and painful at all times, is the collapse of family values. Offering a rich palette of characters, situations, points of view, the author in a new way reflects on the problem, discussed hundreds of times. Both the play and the film, thanks to the authors’ wise and deep view of the world and the magnificent work of the entire film crew, deserve the attention of viewers of different generations and worldviews.
How often do we get together for no reason? I don’t mean close friends, but distant relatives. Almost never. As a rule, such meetings occur under the influence of an event, either bad or good. And so, in this film, all the relatives are gathered because of the death of the head of the family. His wife is a widow, three daughters – who are divorced, who with a new fiancé, children and other relatives, after the funeral are in four walls, sitting at the table. It seems that everything should go smoothly: the memories of the deceased, various happy from his life, all had to disperse. But drama wouldn't be drama just because of the death of a minor character. They start talking. Not simply, but with pressure, turning every sentence into a poisonous accusation aimed at each of the guests. Everyone decided to open the doors of the secret cabinets and take out the skeleton. By telling the truth, they hurt more than any weapon. A burning sense of shame embraces everyone, awkwardness and tension soar in the air, and voices tremble with tears and resentment. Conflicts escalate, everyone quarrels and reconciles, revealing lies and betrayal. Comedy for the environment, tragedy for one’s own, so often happens among relatives.
New events ruin the lives of heroes. The film unfolds in its entirety, bringing as much drama as possible, emphasized by the musical accompaniment. The cast is full of well-known names: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Cooper. They played their part beautifully, showing the fate of losers, fallen people living at the bottom, greedily climbing to the top, but forever falling down. Once scolded, it is so difficult to pull the thread of good relations again, but it was worth only once not to break down and keep silent, so as not to end up alone.
8 out of 10
In the hot air of Osage County, ghosts wander, invisible but inseparable from the Oklahoma Plain, from the house that stands on it, and from the family that gathered under its roof on an August afternoon. These are the ghosts of people, actions, events. According to the iceberg principle, ghosts are somewhere deep in the subtext, but their impact is palpable. They affect each of the members of the Westons family, complicating already strained relationships, provoking bouts of revelation, and forcing the heroes to release all their carefully guarded secrets with some sadomasochistic ecstasy. Behind a realistic image, as in a photo with double exposure, or a picture with an optical illusion, their outlines appear.
This vision is given to us by the dramaturgy of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams on the one hand, and on the other, the novels of William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Carson McCullers and others – the backbone of South Gothic prose, where there is a place for saints, devils, and all biblical characters, and, without a doubt, a small affectionate sister. But for those who are not familiar with them, for whom this film is just a realistic everyday drama, the anxiety born not of screams with quarrels, but of the viscous air of the American South, in which, like in a quagmire, the characters of this film get stuck: flapping their hands and mutual accusations seem a desperate attempt to get out, but the more they flounder, the more they get bogged down.
The proximity of Southern Gothic to the means of artistic expression of the film is not striking because it balances somewhere on the edge, without making the atmosphere of Macabrian madness too obvious, hiding it behind humor and lyrical moments. And the play itself, although it speaks, at first glance, the language of realism, but guided by the tradition of southern prose, as if it itself unknowingly sets foot on the soil of the otherworldly. Their very home, their center of the universe, from which everyone flees but always returns, stands in the land of ghosts. It's like Faulkner in his Yoknapatof saga. This is Indian land. Oseiji lived here before the arrival of Europeans. The white man appropriated their territory by force or deception, proclaiming himself master of these places. Is his right to conquer inviolable? His world, built on power and submission, is collapsing. The children of the conquerors do not need land, they cannot spend an hour in the family gathering without conflicts, and try to escape as far as possible until grief, as a center of gravity, gathers them again. Then slowly, plunging into sleepy slumber, then exploding, the narrative goes to its catharsis. Through the disintegration of one family, to the collapse of the whole world. The land remained and now belongs entirely to ghosts. The camera returns several times to graffiti depicting an Indian chief and buffalo, reminding the viewer that the land does not belong to the living inhabitants of Oklahoma, whether white or descendants of indigenous peoples. And they and others will go away, with their passions and vanity, disappear like dinosaurs.
However, the Westons are descendants of the invaders. Like the Sutpens, the Sartoris, the Compsons, they will pay for it, as their predecessors did. The Westons are the salt of the earth, their power helped the older generation to break out of white trash, reach heights with their work, gain recognition, earn property (for which Violet now clings so much in his manic pettiness), earn respect. All this was passed on to the children by birth, but seasoned with pressure Violet and Matty Faye, depreciates, and over the years it turns into an overwhelming burden of guilt and a sense of duty.
The heroine Meryl Streep, how an evil spirit rules over all his relatives. With a sarcastic and ruthless triumph, she tears off the veils from all close people, in narcotic clouding, not noticing how these veils go away with the skin. She has become an ugly, selfish child who, suffering from burning pain, wants everyone around her to experience such anguish. Imagine: the air is like a hellish furnace, and everything in the mouth burns unbearably, and its words are like hot lava.
Violet is obsessed with the pain, frustration, fear and ghost of her abusive mother, whom I'm sure she swore to be nothing, but the power of blood takes over and Violet is almost a scroll from her. This blood, like the crown of the heir, came from Violet’s eldest daughter Barbara, and she carries her proudly, although she is already reaping bitter fruits: a loving and beloved husband has left, her daughter is moving away. In a short time at home, she goes a long way in pursuit of the ghost of her father, who beautifully retires from the stage at the very beginning, uttering Elliot's words, which became the epigraph to the entire film that "life is very long."
In Barbara, it seems that all the power of the family is concentrated, she deprives her mother of the right to be in charge, although she knows that she may be doomed to loneliness, like Violet. And yet, she doesn’t have the bitterness that her mother and aunt have due to a difficult childhood, so she’s almost free of the ghost curse. Her daughter, who refuses to “have fear,” will no longer be cursed, and she will no longer complete this, but write a completely new story, unrelated to this land and this blood.
Therefore, in the film, in my opinion, Julia Roberts stands out in the brightest. She found a place where she could show the full force of her dramatic talent. Meryl Streep at the head of a galaxy of actors of the first class - this is not surprising. But the strong performance of Roberts and the ability to show the versatility of her heroine, instantly rejects the sweet taste of her previous roles in romcoms.
Finally, a character worth mentioning. This is an Indian woman hired to work as a nurse in their house. At first glance, an unambiguous, but in fact the most mysterious figure of all. It is mercy, wisdom, patience, and a kind, just force that balances all suffering, as if taking them away. She's not a ghost, but she's not exactly human. She is the guide to death, to the journey to eternity. She listens politely and attentively to Beverly's last words. Affectionately and mercifully embraces, rocking like a child, exuded by cancer and loneliness Violet. For the most part, she is silent, listening and watching to come at the right time with her comfort and help to all who need them.
August is a special movie. Special in its theatrical manner from beginning to end. Whenever I watch it, I rather imagine a theatrical production that has acquired scale and scope thanks to the camera, but has not lost the true and strong acting emotions, strange and painful facial expressions, emotional tension that there is in the theater.
Also, to be honest, I am struck by the universality, conflict and reaction. We see it every day. I'm talking about family strife and strife. But in some inexplicable way, it is this fact that makes the film close and dear to me.
And of course, he should be admired because of the absolutely incredible cast. Actors appear in completely unexpected images. It's interesting and amazing at the same time.