August: Osage County

Very real. This movie took me into the presence of this Osage county family. The problem with that is that it was too real; so real that it became boring, just as real life is boring. The objective of a great film is stretch the envelope of reality which this film does not endeavour to do; it just presents reality. Obviously an extremely talented cast and outstanding performances. Meryl Streep played a similar role in the 1998 film "One True Thing," co-starring Renee Zellweger and William Hurt. August: Osage County felt very authentic to me, but I cannot say that it impacted me as did "One True Thing" where I felt like I was "in it" with the characters and where I remember the characters to this day and still care about them. August: Osage County is a watchable film but I don't think I will remember it 15 years from now which is the litmus test for a great film. I wouldn't pay money to see this--skip it or wait for the T. V. showing unless you are a die-hard Meryl Streep or Julia Roberts fan.