Overview
A family reunion in the sweltering heat reveals deep-seated secrets and tensions.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- acidic
- oppressive
- melancholic
- adult drama night
- theater adaptation viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film compelling as a darkly comic family drama powered by strong performances, while considering its stage-bound construction and melodrama uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Weston family reunion in a sweltering Oklahoma house intensifies into sustained verbal and emotional conflict.
Violet's cancer, pill use, and alcohol dependency shape the family's power struggles and obligations.
Violet, Barbara, Ivy, Karen, and Mattie Fae form the central network of clashing perspectives and unresolved histories.
The family members use sharp, often cruel wit during meals, confrontations, and revelations.
Films like August: Osage County, and why
The Royal Tenenbaums
shared ensemble family drama, buried secrets, corrosive interpersonal conflict, and emotionally volatile domestic confrontations
The Savages
shared dysfunctional family dynamics, painful revelations, dark humor, and intimate generational conflict
Rachel Getting Married
shared claustrophobic family gathering, escalating resentments, secrets, and a blend of bleak drama with mordant comedy
Steel Magnolias
shared Southern domestic drama, female-centered family conflict, illness, and sharply written emotional confrontations
Movie Details
- Director
- John Wells
- Release Date
- 2013-12-26
- Runtime
- 121 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (1622)
Cast
- Meryl Streep
- Julia Roberts
- Julianne Nicholson
- Juliette Lewis
- Ewan McGregor
- Margo Martindale
- Abigail Breslin
- Chris Cooper
- Dermot Mulroney
- Benedict Cumberbatch
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is August: Osage County about?
- A cancer-stricken Oklahoma matriarch’s reunion with her fractious daughters turns grief, addiction, and family secrets into a blistering domestic reckoning.
- What is August: Osage County like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of August: Osage County as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is August: Osage County violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in August: Osage County as mild.
- What did critics think of August: Osage County?
- Critics broadly found the film compelling as a darkly comic family drama powered by strong performances, while considering its stage-bound construction and melodrama uneven.
- Which films are like August: Osage County?
- Films with a similar feel include The Royal Tenenbaums, The Savages, Rachel Getting Married, and Steel Magnolias.
- How long is August: Osage County?
- August: Osage County runs 121 minutes.
- Where can I watch August: Osage County?
- In United States, August: Osage County streams on Amazon Prime Video, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
