“August: Osage County” From Stage to Screen
Some people love to spend a lot of time in theatres, watching live performances and raw acting. Whereas other people take more enjoyment in the comfort of their own home while becoming completely engrossed behind the screen. When a film is made through the inspiration of a play, this can be very exciting to some people as what they have seen on stage is brought to life with the endless possibilities of movie magic. More times than not, the movie’s success critically depends on the execution of the adaptation from stage to screen.
When indulging in the works of Tracy Letts’s play “August: Osage County,” whether that be watching or reading the script, it’s quickly evident that Letts has remarkable talent in his literary craft. This play in particular actually received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize, which is a very prestigious honor being that the award is over 100 years old. This is not his only piece of work that has received an award but it is arguably what he is most known for. When delving into the play instantly it’s easy to make personal connections with the characters’ struggles and storylines.
The play is set in Oklahoma centered around a middle-class family with many different layers to each character. It begins with Beverly, a self-proclaimed alcoholic and the protagonist Barb’s father, speaking about his alcohol problems and his wife Violet’s pill addiction. Parents are the building blocks of a family and with being shown that the father and mother have major issues, it’s evident that there is going to be nothing but chaos and unlimited facades to follow. Barb is going through a failing marriage and the struggles of having a teenage daughter who smokes pot, both of which are completely unbeknown to the rest of the family. Ivy, the middle of three daughters of Beverly and Violet, is quiet and unlike the other two daughters, stayed close to home. Much like every other character in the story there is much more than what is portrayed on the surface though, as she is having an affair with her cousin. Due to their fathers unexpected disappearance in the beginning of the play, the whole family is reunited in the daughters childhood home. It is here where many surprising events and a multitude of dark elements are implemented all throughout the entirety of the play. This makes it both entertaining and exciting to read.
What makes a film adaptation so successful is how they use the base story, and turn it into a piece of art that is able to be shown on screen while still staying true to a vast majority of the original works. John Wells wrote and directed the film adaptation of this play, this coming well after many milestones and awards in his career for other works. It’s safe to say that he was more than qualified to take on this task of turning this dark and humorous play into something for millions to enjoy from home.
Each step of the movie falls almost in perfect unison that the play did. This was his goal when creating the film and he very much so achieved it. Just as it is in the play, the house is shown as a toxic environment which the mother very rarely leaves. We are shown her verbally abusive nature very early in the film and persists throughout. The few times that we do see Violet outside of the house, it’s as though this negative energy is lifted from her and many layers to her uncharacteristic, kind-hearted nature are revealed. Very seldom do we see this, but it’s prominent that inside the house is where the toxicity derives from and drives the emotional confrontations between many members of the family. The movie does a phenomenal job at embodying this and portraying it in such a way that the viewers’ eyes are glued to the screen.
This is just one of the many examples in which the film does justice to all the key components that the play does such a good job at. All throughout the film, it is as though Wells took exactly what Letts was envisioning with each scene and each movement and made it a reality. Influential moments that occur in the play also show up on screen with little to no change at all. The disappearance of Beverly, the reunion of the toxic and multi-layered family members, and many of the confrontations within the play executed on screen to perfection — including the key argument between Barb and Violet that changes the dynamic between the two forever.
“August: Osage County” is extremely professionally completed, both on stage and on screen, possessing many themes and elements that help the audience to become completely and utterly engrossed in the events that unfold within. Letts’s play, with his unbounded and impressive writing skills, has the ability to grab hold of its audience with a tight grasp that doesn’t show any signs of letting go until the play is completely over. Wells’s film, with his deep experience and precise attention to detail, is exactly what its audience would expect when envisioning the play to be depicted on screen. If searching for a film that is almost exact to its previous version, this is precisely where the search ends.
