For so long, I’ve avoided this for one single reason: I am prepared to cry at a movie. Hey, I cry at all almost every film. I am a film crier. So, give me a film about a family with one daughter who has cancer, who have a second daughter to provide bits and pieces to kept the first daughter alive and the second daughter decides she’s had enough? Ah, the tears!
Actually, I always thought that it might be somewhat cheesy. I suspected it would be, I don’t know. And it probably is, but I totally loved it. It is absolutely a cheesy series of flashbacks and what have you, but it was great. What’s more, it is not just what happens to a sick teenager dealing with life, but what happens to the whole family. The young, donor, sister. The mother, having her entire existence be about keeping her older daughter alive. The father, pained through the constant fight. The brother, all but forgotten.
Beveley Weston (Sam Shepard) an alcoholic academic goes missing, and the three daughters he had with pill-popping wife Violet (Meryl Streep) return to support her. But each have their secrets and problems leading to a massively volatile time.
I saw this as a play by MTC a few years ago and loved it. I especially loved the set, but seemed to recall that the script was very impressive. Hence, I was concerned about watching the film; would it hold up? Would it be overwhelmed by the big names in the cast? (Meryl Streep, Sam Shepard, Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor, Dermot Mulroney, Juliette Lewis, Abigail Breslin and Benedict Cumberbatch as the main names)
I think it held up extremely well. It’s certainly not a happy film; if you are ever feeling that you are taking your family for granted, watch this. You will love them so much more. So many horrible people in one place.
It is surprising that the film has only been nominated for awards for acting in the Oscars and Golden Globes. With such a strong story and excellent performances, I would have expected it would at least be nominated for Best Film. It’s a far better film that The Wolf of Wall Street. But then, it wasn’t directed by Martin Scorsese, and the main performances are by women. It seems to be a bit of a pattern for the awards I’ve noticed; the films that have been nominated for best performances by actresses are less likely to appear in the best film category than the films nominated for best performance by actor. Sexist? Or are women just not getting leads in good films? Are male stories better? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?
Interestingly, just after I wrote this, I was sent a link to an article about sexism in the film industry featuring Olivia Wilde. Here it is. She took part in an experiment with some male actors reading aloud from the script of American Pie, only swapping male and female parts. The ladies got the laughs, the guys got bored. Interesting. (I should note that I don’t know anything about PolicyMic. It’s just the link I read. Lazy journalism? I’m not a journalist. FYI)
August: Osage County was nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Meryl Streep), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Julia Roberts), for Golden Globes for Best Actress in A Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy (Meryl Streep), Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Julia Roberts) and for a BAFTA Supporting Actress (Julia Roberts).
I always say that I can’t stand horror, but it seems I am developing a soft spot for horror/comedy. Not that I’ve seen too many films in this genre. 100 Bloody Acres, Sean of the Dead, I can’t think of any others. There must be more.
Zombieland takes place after something has happened – it’s unimportant exactly what – but America is overrun by Zombies. There are few survivors, and those that are alive may be more interested in saving themselves than working as a team.
Enter Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a geeky college student who has quickly developed a series of rules to keep himself alive. When he comes across Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) they form an unlikely partnership who end up being challenged, hindered and assisted by sisters Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin).
The film is funny and violent. Possibly violently funny, although definitely hilariously violent. I’ve not been a huge fan of Eisenberg, but that’s mostly because I really couldn’t stand the character he played in The Social Network and have not really moved on from here. Columbus was the perfect role for him – geeky, a bit shy but not afraid to use a semi-automatic weapon. And then there’s Bill Murray. Ah, bless you, Bill Murray.
ireckonthat 