Un été à Osage County

Sex in the city after thirty years. In the countryside. Men don't get much space here, just occasionally lightening the suffocating atmosphere of a quarrelsome women's family gathering. Like mother, like Katka. Thanks to her acting arsenal, playing at full throttle, more than good. Meryl unbelievable again. However, it would sometimes be beneficial to slow down the pace and let the viewer absorb the feelings and thoughts from the past argument before the next, even faster and more intense one begins. Slowing down the pace, for example, by focusing on the environment and the place where the film takes place. Creating the atmosphere. It would only help the interwoven relationships of the characters and stay in the viewer's memory longer, not just as a television staged play, but as a film worthy of the big screen and its acting stars. (06/02/2014)

Do you know those (theatrical) conversational comedies where a group of people gather in a closed space and argue bitterly? Carnage or the French What's in a Name are two typical examples. So, this is something similar but much more cruel, where your smile will quickly become bitter because when the characters say something nasty, they really mean it. Meryl Streep is fantastic, as usual, and Julia Roberts is in great form. (12/01/2014)

A film that presents excellent acting performances and then... well, that's all there is. The actors are able to express emotions, and they do it absolutely brilliantly, but that's simply it, you won't find anything more. The story is not necessary here, it can be immediately recognized that it was originally a play. However, watching a play on the screen, and that for two hours, may not be such a strong experience, which was also achieved by the film "Carnage", which is slightly shorter. The acting performances are intense, but it's still just theater and the film adaptation doesn't add much to it. Only those truly familiar faces. (02/02/2014)

Already when I found out what this movie was about I was thinking that the only thing that could mesmerize me here are the acting performances. In the end, there was one and it was none other than Meryl Streep, who keeps proving every year that she has reached her acting summit. But the thing is she has been on the top of her game for several years, or decades now. I tip my hat off to her. But the movie as such has nothing that would interest me. The premise is good but the execution isn’t too great and if it wasn’t for Meryl, I would consider this movie another family existential drama, which you get dime a dozen. I must admit that I have no idea what the stage play that the movie is based on would have to offer me. But I definitely understand that it can serve as the ground for some good acting performances. However, in my opinion this is pretty selfish and egotistical of the authors. You see two hours are a bit too long for a movie like this. (11/02/2014)

A pretty depressing psychological drama. Fortunately, I’m immune to depression, so there wasn’t much to recover from. On the other hand, I can’t say I’m immune to Julia Roberts. Her wounded expression succeeded in annoying me as always. The story is a cliché – a family gathers at a funeral, which hardly leads to anything pleasant. Most of us are used to that thanks to our own family reunions. What I liked were the performances of Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper. Otherwise, I preferred Fireflies in the Garden. (30/12/2016)