August: Osage County

We take it in turns to propose the films that we screen and then the rest of the committee gives its consent - sort of. The only definite rule is that someone has to have seen the film...

I'd not seen this film, although what I'd read made me add it to my "interesting film to see sometime" mental list, and so was looking forward to the screening.

The whole cast gave good performance, and I can see why the ensemble got such good reviews, but somehow the whole film was less than the sum of its parts. the film was based on a successful stage play and that came across in the adaptation: a series of set pieces set in and around the family house with no opportunity to broaden the location. I'm not sure if a better director could have handled it better, although I think the structure of the screenplay added this constraint.

It was good to see for the performances, but it's definitely not a classic and not one that I'd like to watch again.

Here are my notes

August: Osage County

USA 2013        121 minutes

Director:          John Wells

Starring:            Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin and Benedict Cumberbatch

Awards and Nominations

• Oscar nominations for Best Actress (Meryl Streep) and Best Supporting Actress (Julia Roberts)
• BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Julia Roberts)
• A further 15 wins and 61 nominations

“…Wells's adaptation is notable primarily for its A-list ensemble cast, all of whom relish the chance to sink their teeth into Letts's bilious dialogue. Top of the heap is Meryl Streep, as the poisonous (and poisoned) matriarch Violet Weston, whose scattered clan descend upon her godforsaken home when her alcoholic poet husband mysteriously goes missing. It turns out he's the lucky one; after a few days of incestuous infighting and bloody backstabbing, it's easy to see why anyone trapped in this domestic hell-hole would rather drown themselves than sit down to family dinner.”

Mark Kermode

The film is an adaptation by Tracy Letts of his Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same which ran on Broadway for over a year and was also staged briefly at the National Theatre in London. The film reduces the running time of the play by about an hour, which results in the adaptation offering a series of theatrical set pieces rather than opening the story out by rethinking the play in cinematic terms. Nonetheless the A-list ensemble cast work well together, with particular praise being given to Meryl Streep as the matriarch and Julia Roberts as her daughter who while being the only person strong enough to face her is terrified of turning into her.

Letts trained as an actor but has also made his name as a writer for both stage and screen: two of his earlier plays have been successfully filmed from his own screenplays and a third has been adapted into a TV series. As a TV actor he played a supporting role in two seasons of Homeland as well as appearing in minor roles in many other programmes, while as a stage actor he has appeared in many US productions, with his most notable role being George, in a production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf on Broadway, for which he received the Tony Award for Best Actor.

John Wells made his name as executive producer and showrunner of a number of high profile US TV series including ER, The West Wing, and Shameless. He made his debut as a director of feature films with The Company of Men (2010) for which he also wrote the screenplay. He subsequently produced and co-wrote the screenplay for Love & Mercy (2014), a biographical drama about the Beach Boys, and has since directed Burnt (2016) a drama about a chef which despite its award-winning cast received mixed reviews.

 Here's a link to the trailer:

 

 

The 20 Best Films of all Time chosen by me - Part 2

It's been difficult to limit myself to just five films, but this is a list which I could happily watch on a regular basis:

1. Duck Soup - The Marx Brothers
While growing up I'd seen A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, A Night in Casablanca and The Big Store on TV as a regular bass as my father was a great fan.  But when I read up about the Marx Brothers saw that there were several early films that never seemed to make it to TV.  And then one wet Sunday afternoon BBC2 screened Duck Soup and I was hooked.

2. Notting Hill

I'd always regarded Four Weddings and a Funeral as a piece of cinema verite as  saw it at the time that most of my college contemporaries were getting married, and so far only one has died.  However Notting Hill has a more complex plot, a wonderful role for a beautiful Julia Roberts, and Elvis Costello singing She over the credits.  Need I say more?

 

 

3. Manhattan
It's a bit of a cliche to choose Manhattan as it regularly appears on Best Of Lists, but it is pretty good and I do like Rhapsody in Blue...  I've seen all the films that Woody Allen directed in the 10 years after Annie Hall and many of those from the later period, although only his recent Midnight in Paris comes close to his legendary brilliance.

4. Kind Hearts and Coronets
I had to choose an Ealing comedy and to me this is by far the best.  Apart from the virtuoso series of character parts from Alec Guinness the plot is razor sharp with a brilliant twist at the end.

 

 

 

5. Best in Show

This comes from the same team that produced This is Spinal Tap and is set in the world of competitive dog shows.  Against my better judgement I once went to Crufts to accompany my wife, who is a confirmed dog-aholic and it confirmed all my worst nightmares.  However Best in Show is a very funny satire - in the form of a dog-umentary.