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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2014 THIS WEEK 34 FAMILIES are great fodder for drama, because we all have – or at least have had – one so we can identify with them in fiction, and they're always potentially packed with emotion, neuroses and heartbreak. This is part of the reason why August: Osage County, a film ad- aptation of Tracy Letts's play of the same name, has scored Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomi- nations for two of the stars of its ensemble cast, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. It's not the only reason, but I'm sure the universal- but-specific nature of its character dynamic has helped the Academy warm to this thorny black comedy about deep-seated familial strife in sweltering Oklahoma. The central locus of the mad matriarchy which characterises Letts's script – he adapts his own play for the screen, which is di- rected by TV drama veteran John Wells – is Violet Weston (Streep). The acerbic humour begins early on: the brutally honest mother- of-three, whose trademark ap- pears to be an unceasing drive to tear into her loved ones, is diag- nosed with mouth cancer. This development appears to be the last straw for her long-suffering husband, the celebrated poet and university professor Beverly Wes- ton (Sam Shepard) who takes off without warning the day after he hires a Native American maid, Johnna (Misty Upham) to take care of Violet as she undergoes chemotherapy. When the situation takes a fur- ther turn into the tragic, Violet summons the entire family in a fit of panic. We realise early on that this may not have been the best move. United only by a col- lective ease over their upbring- ing, the Weston sisters drag their reluctant spouses into what turns out to be a maelstrom of old re- sentments and new – and often shocking – revelations. The problem with Meryl Streep is that, great as she no doubt is, her roles tend to be predictably loud 'LOOK AT ME I AM ACT- ING' types, exemplified perhaps most recently (and brashly) by her turn as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (a film that left room for very little apart from her per- formance). But although 'August' gives her plenty ingredients with which to show off (it doesn't get much better than cancer-ridden prescription-pill addict with a psychologically vicious streak), she's offset against an equally strong supporting cast, and be- cause the script is primarily a piece of black comedy before it is a worthy drama, for once we can enjoy Streep's expert actorly con- tortions as pure entertainment – no more, no less. Julia Roberts's Barbara is an en- try point of sorts for us into this claustrophobic and intense world, though she's hardly a clean slate herself. This is good – we meet her fresh after she's separated from her husband, Bill (Ewan Mc- Gregor) and is growing more and more estranged from her teenage daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin) – so she's an interesting emotional cocktail to begin with, even before she's thrown into the simmering pot of old familial resentments. It all comes to a boil in a final mother-daughter confrontation between Roberts and Streep – a shouty display that is just plain fun to watch, if nothing else. By contrast, Barbara's sisters don't fare as well. Juliette Lewis's Karen rarely rises above the 'tacky, deluded bimbo' stereotype, while Julianne Nicholson's Iv y plays a subdued character lost in a sea of explosive types. But it's fascinating to observe the layers of this family unfold, especially when you realise that Violet may not be such a victim after all. If anything, Letts de- picts a matriarchal society gone haywire. The males are generally well-meaning but inept at meet- ing the madness and fury of their female counterparts half way. Though there's a bitter undercur- rent to the proceedings, the story is a kinder and better f leshed out version Letts's previous stage-to- screen adaptation, the William Friedkin-directed shocker Killer Joe (2011). Though he tackles a similar set- up – characters eking out an ex- istence is a sweltering, middle-of- nowhere stretch of America – the psychological nuances of 'August' make for a far richer and more satisfying brew. FILM IN CINEMAS TODAY By Teodor Reljic St James Cavalier Valletta Tel. 21 223200 Tosca – Puccini – Met Opera Live (U) 15:00 Coriolanus – NT Live (15) 19:00 Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818 I, Frankenstein (3D) (12) 10:00, 12:15, 14:30, 16:45, 19:00, 21:15 12 Years a Slave (15) 10:25, 15:00, 18:00, 20:50 The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (12) 17:20, 20:45 Robocop (12) 10:25, 13:20, 15:55, 18:35, 21:10 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (PG) 10:30, 13:55, 16:20, 18:45, 21:10 Philomena (12) 10:00, 12:15, 14:30, 16:45, 19:00, 21:15 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel. 23 710400 Cuban Fury (12) 14:05, 16:15, 18:30, 21:05, 23:15 Last Vegas (12) 14:0, 16:20, 18:35, 20:45 Delivery Man (12) 14:10, 16:25, 18:45, 21:00, 23:15 The Wolf of Wall Street (18) 14:05, 17:40, 21:15, 23:00 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (12) 14:05, 16:30, 18:45, 21:10, 23:30 I, Frankenstein 3D (3D) (12) 14:20, 16:30, 18:50, 21:15, 23:25 August: Osage County (15) 14:25, 18:05, 20:45, 23:15 Captain Phillips (12) 14:25, 18:05, 20:50, 23:30 American Hustle (15) 14:30, 18:05, 20:55, 23:40 Carrie (15) 14:10, 16:20, 18:35, 21:10, 23:20 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (12) 14:30, 18:00, 21:10 Her (15) 14:20, 18:10, 20:50, 23:25 Frozen (U) 14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 20:55, 23:10 Qlub Imwe g a (12) 14:10, 17:40, 21:15 Robocop (12) 14:25, 18:25, 21:05, 23:40 12 Years a Slave (15) 14:30, 18:00, 21:00, 23:45 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (12) 10:45, 13:30, 15:45, 17:50, 20:45 Qlub Imwegggha (12) 10:30, 14:00, 17:45, 21:15 Delivery Man (12) 10:35, 13:45, 16:00, 18:15 The Wolf of Wall Street (18) 20:55 I, Frankenstein (3D) (12) 10:40, 13:35, 15:50, 17:55, 20:50 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (12) 10:50, 14:00, 18:00, 21:05 Romeo & Juliet (PG) 18:10, 20:45 Despicable Me 2 (U) 10:35, 13:30, 16:00 Frozen (U) 10:55, 13:35, 15:55, 18:15, 20:50 Sins of the mother YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt Bitter seeds: Julianne Nicholson, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ FLAWLESS ★ ★ ★ ★ HOTTEST ★ ★ ★ AUGUST ★ ★ SAWDUST ★ VOMIT This week's picks ACTION ROBOCOP The year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front from the war zone, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy – a loving husband, father and good cop – is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer. Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson and Abbie Cornish. DRAMA HER Theodore is a lonely man in the final stages of his divorce. When he's not working as a letter writer, his down time is spent playing video games and occasionally hanging out with friends. He decides to purchase the new OS1, which is advertised as the world's first artificially intelligent operating system, "It's not just an operating system, it's a consciousness," the ad states. Theodore quickly finds himself drawn in with Samantha, the voice behind his OS1. Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson. HORROR CARRIE A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White, a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother (Julianne Moore), who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom. Starring: Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore. AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (15) ★ ★ ★ ★