Margo Martindale is part of August: Osage County a movie that is put to life by an all-star cast with names like Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch and other great actors. The movie has a ‘give me an Oscar’ vibe and it would really be a great competitor on the next awards night. The movie is an adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Tony award and Pulitzer Prize winning play.
Meryl Streep leads the pact as a pill-addicted mother named Violet who is mourning the death of his beloved husband Beverley (played by the amazing Sam Shepherd). Violet’s pill addiction should be legitimized by the fact that she suffers from mouth cancer but her behavior has been a reason why her daughters haven’t been to keen on visiting.
Barbara (played by Julia Roberts) is summoned to return home. She brings her husband Bill (Ewan McGregor) and her daughter Jean (Abigail Bresline). This return has brought upon criticisms from Violet even with the mouth cancer diagnosis. Ivy (Julianne Nicholson), the middle child who stayed with her venomous mother is resentful for Barbara’s home coming. She’s also not happy to see the youngest sister, Karen (Juliette Lewis) back at their farmhouse.
The reunion brought upon by the death of the patriarch gives way to a stage where lamenting is mixed with a lot of insults, most especially from the very outspoken Violet. Although they mostly get into fights, it becomes a therapy of sorts to sort out bad feelings and years of bitterness.
Margo Martindale plays the role of Mattie Fae Aiken, the sister of Barbara. It’s interesting to note that Streep and Martindale have worked together before and their chemistry in the movie is obviously strengthened by their real life friendship. Ms. Martindale has this to say about the movie:
“I’m nervous. August was a wonderful, incredible two months. It will look beautiful. The script is magnificent. The actors are all fabulous. Will it all work? That will be a mystery. I was wildly happy to get that part, and I said to myself, after seeing it on Broadway, “I want to play that in the movie.” Rondi Reed, who played it on stage, I couldn’t have perfected that. There was no need to do it on stage. So I decided to set my sights on the movie.”
Overall the movie is good. The transition from play to movie cut the time so it felt a bit rushed. One thing if for sure, this movie is really funny. If you want to see Meryl Streep blast a bunch on insults on other actors then definitely watch this one.
