EDITORIAL: Why ‘August: Osage County’ Had The Biggest Emotional Effect On Me Of Any Film From 2013

As of this morning, I have now experienced all three films adapted from Tracy Letts’ screenplays spanning the past 7 years. Bug and Killer Joe, both directed by William Friedkin, were wildly unsettling in very different ways. Led by phenomenal acting from Michael Shannon and Matthew McConaughey, respectively, both films are ones I’ve found myself returning to solely for the utterly terrifying, often darkly comedic, yet ultimately shocking results. Letts’ most recent screenplay, August: Osage County, is a straight-forward look into the lives of a highly dysfunctional family, and while some themes found in his earlier works could certainly be picked out of his newest, it’s an entirely different beast altogether. Essentially, yet again, hoisted proudly on the shoulders of its combined acting prowess, and regardless of relying on a theme frequently revisited in film, this John Wells-helmed drama had the largest emotional impact on me of any film released in 2013.

As mentioned, and as expected, the acting in August: Osage County is second to none. Meryl Streep is undeniably praiseworthy for every moment she’s on screen in this film. Don’t be surprised if she picks up her fourth Academy Award. But furthermore, I’d say that every supporting actor involved deserves their fair share of merit. Julia Roberts got her well-deserved Oscar nod and even though most of the other roles were minor in comparison, every actor delivered and kept me emotionally invested for the long haul. This could ultimately equate to the believability of it all due to the simplicity of the script, but we’ve all seen this film before in one interpretation or another and you’d be hard-pressed to find one quite as painstakingly real as this. I can safely say that due to the utter obnoxiousness, self-loathing, and overly dramatic nature of most of these characters, had this film been comprised of any other cast, I very likely wouldn’t have been able to make it through its 2-hour runtime.

I’ve grown to understand that this doesn’t necessarily apply to anyone and everyone, but I like my films to make me feel, be it comedy, horror, drama, or romance. I like to feel the emotions that these films are intended to instill in you. I like to feel my heart race in a terrifying sequence of scares. I like to feel my heart swell, not because of my terrible cholesterol, but because I’m witnessing true love manifest in the form of a relationship between two likable characters. And who doesn’t love to laugh? August: Osage County exudes all of these emotions. There’s plenty of love involved, even if it’s unraveling, and amongst the passionate bickering and outright manic behavior, there are even some big laughs. But while A:OC would have to be drastically reworked to be billed as a horror film, it still managed to scare me, and for that trifecta of emotions that I’m left with post viewing, I must consider this film to have had the most emotional resonance with me in the past year. Sure, Short Term 12, Dallas Buyers Club, 12 Years a Slave, and others definitely left me either in awe, a mild state of depression, or both, but I can’t necessarily relate to the subject matter in those films directly. However, what Letts and Wells have concocted here made me think. Deeply. It made me consider the future more than many things do, but a future that directly affects me and mine alone.

I’m not terribly close with the majority of my family. There honestly isn’t a member I talk to on what would be considered a regular basis, but at the least, a handful of us keep in touch for the most part. I’m at a point in my life where I can admit that a lot of this is my own fault. I’m reclusive and private and impatient, but it’s a two-way street, and we’ve all got transportation in that world. Every family has their ups and downs, that’s no secret, but regardless of what’s transpired in the past within my family or any, in those moments and the ones following riddled with grudges, you rarely contemplate where it’ll all lead as you go on with your life outside of family matters. This film made me consider where I’m heading, what I’ve abandoned, what’s abandoned me, and what I may leave behind. From the opening moments of August: Osage County to its final frames lies unrelenting anguish, regret, pride, resentment, guilt, confusion, deceit, and pain, and all these negative feelings and occurrences are created by just one family. Some families are blessed to never experience this web of woe internally and hopefully that’s not a rare case but there are unfortunately the families that do, and even a couple cases this bad could be considered too many.

I could bore the shit out of someone with a list of whines and cries about what’s gone on in my life but that’s not my point. The point is that this film hit me hard because of what all of my choices have led to and for anyone with an even remotely similar relationship with their family, I would imagine that it would do the same to them. By the film’s conclusion, I found myself thinking of my mother, who despite her many faults has never once been inaccessible when I just needed someone to tell me “Everything is going to be okay.” I found myself thinking of my uncle that I never knew as well as I wanted to until he unexpectedly lashed out at me to inform me that I was a disappointment. My mother has always been there for me so why do I allow myself to be so distanced from her? My uncle barely knew me and I had no reason to feel obligated to impress him, so why do I find myself wanting so badly to make him aware of who I am today? As I found myself irritated with the fact that I even had to ask myself these questions, I began to hate August: Osage County just as much as I initially fell in love with it. The film became somewhat of a therapist, picking away at my conscience and making me evaluate what kind of person I am. Up until that point I never fully allowed myself to dwell on the things that had happened and how I’ve dealt with them, whether my choices ostensibly seemed right or not.

This film obviously isn’t going to have the same effect on everyone and I doubt that it was written with this intention. And this certainly isn’t the first film to make me question myself or my future, but it’s the most recent to do so and it’s done it in a very coercive manner. It’s made me feel guilty for not subscribing to “family first” and if the guilt is there then there’s a reason for it. I’ve always been the type that lives ‘in the now’ so for me to think this heavily about how my current actions will affect my future self and those I’ve shared my life with, I can’t help but feel that August: Osage County is a truly impelling and influential film. In this day and age, I consider that a commendable feat.

 
Editorial written by: Brian Lion — (Follow him on Twitter)

Brian Leak
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