It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

You will never forget this movie. Win lose, or draw. If Meryl Streep doesn't deserve an Academy Award for this performance, no one did, ever. Ever.

Just another formula movie skip it.Meryl Streep is just phoning it in for another paycheck.People like Streep should just retire and change jobs.I think her political views are hurting her acting.She should just shut up and act.

"August: Osage County" may be the most brutally pessimistic play/film since Gorki's "The Lower Depths" in the nineteenth century. But in this case, the depressing experience is not focused on the fated action of the lower class in Russia, but rather the neurosis of the American family.While Eugene O'Neill addressed the results of repression and family secrets in his masterpiece "Long Day's Journey Into Night, playwright and screenwriter Tracy Letts appears to have an even bleaker vision of family dysfunction. While the film's focal point may be the mother-daughter relationship of Violet Weston (Meryl Streep) and her daughter Barbara (Julia Roberts), every character in the extended family is afflicted is enmeshed in the same destructive family system. The characters collide, bouncing off each other like billiard balls.At times, the depth of cruelty stretches credibility. This is especially apparent in Streep's character Violet. Many of her thoughtless and biting attacks on her her daughters went beyond belief. Similarly, the cruelty of Violet sister Mattie Fae (Margo Martindale) towards her son "Little Charles" (Benedict Cumberbatch) seemed to come out of nowhere when she confronted him at the piano.The depiction of the family train wreck is nonetheless compelling and provides a lesson in sensitizing ourselves to each other. The characters in this film never seemed grateful to have a family. Perhaps viewers can walk away from the experience with a new outlook on loved ones. After all, it can't get much worse than the month of August in Osage County.

Very slow beginning. Story drags for quite a while. The script adds cursing just to feel more "exciting," but it's just annoying. Not sure what the point really was. Maybe what people think Oklahoma families are like? Or, what would happen if your family were all nut jobs? Big actor names for a bland story. They seem like it's trying to be "artsy." You don't see the characters, you see the actors, unfortunately. Would be a lot better with unknowns. The big name actors just take away from the originality and reality of what it may be trying to accomplish. I think the actors were given a script one day and just recited the next day in one take.Excellent cinematography and directing, though. The camera movements are clear. The scene changes are appropriate for the story. Very good directing in the sense that you can see what you're supposed to be trying to see. Focus on each important role was well taken care of. Lighting helped move the story along and depict the feeling the characters are going through. Music was very odd. Again, though, it may be the distraction of the horrible acting.