Yesterday my daughter and I saw Meryl Streep’s latest film, August: Osage County. Other famous actors were cast, among them Julia Roberts.
We were prepared for some light-hearted fare, a comedy with a sprinkling of drama. Instead we were thoroughly surprised by the heavy drama about which there was very little to laugh.
The byline should have read…tragic mayhem in a fractured family. The film was reminiscent of holiday dinners one hears about where family members spew venom across a table of delightful goodies.
If I had to describe the film in one word it would be…ugly.
While both Streep and Roberts seem to be aging beautifully without the help of bottled potions, their depictions of the main characters was anything but. I’m certain neither actress is really like the persons they portrayed, a bitch of a mother whose daughter followed suit.
I’ve always felt that parents play a big role in determining the outcome of their offspring. After all, we are their first role models, like it or not. Like the monkeys, our children imitate what they see us do. Understanding what it is they’re doing comes later, sometimes much later. Like when we’re adults unable to change who we’ve unwittingly become.
The silver lining to an otherwise tragic story is that we can break the pattern. We needn’t continue the legacy of bad parenting. It may take all that we have to cut the ties that bind us to an abusive past, but for the sake of future generations we must. Otherwise, endless lives continue to be heaped upon the landfill of lost souls.
August: Osage County is rife with lost souls…Streep’s husband who commits suicide because he can’t continue living with a venomous wife…Streep’s sister who ceaselessy hurls abuse at the son she fathered with Streep’s husband…Streep’s daughters, Roberts who has taken up the mantle of her mother’s razor-edge tongue, and her sisters of whom one can only find love with the brother whom she thought was a first cousin, and the other sister who is marrying a lech because he promises her an island honeymoon.
Perhaps the film’s characters are over-the-top, but I’m sure we all know someone who has suffered the effects of abuse that made its way from one generation to the next.
Love is key to finding one’s way back from a life of purgatory on earth. Love of one’s self, nurtured by the supporting love of others.
…a big step forward is not being closed off to love…
………hugmamma.
…a loving mother of 12 who continues to serve as a great role model for future generations…
hugmamma's MIND, BODY and SOUL 
Appreciate you blogging thiis
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Fortunately or Unfortunately … my spirit felt the riff in the trailer and said “NoNoNo — no matter how much you like the actresses — these are not the vibrations you need at the moment” — so, your description confirms it and I thank you for that!!
I am down a healing path — and I don’t need to go backwards and relive moments I’d rather forget.
It is sooooo important — to recognize — yes, the cycle can be broken as to not continue with the traits and send the message of allowance to future generations. Thank you for sharing! 😀
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I’m with you on traveling forward on a positive path, and never turning back or allowing others to lay their guilt trips upon me. I’m for living my own life, especially at 64…when each moment is so precious. hugs as you continue to heal…
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Not the way I would choose to spend an evening. I like to go to the movies to be entertained not have my guts twisted up or be reminded of how horrible people can be. I choose to spend time viewing life through my rose coloured glasses!
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I am totally with you on seeing films that make me feel great, rather than morose. My daughter and I agree that the trailer for the movie is very deceiving. The snippet gave us no hint of the tragedy that would unfold…suicide…incest…venomous abuse. It’s probably up for awards because of the acting by Streep and Roberts. I guess reality sells. TV attests to that fact, what with all the true-to-life drama folks are more than willing to share with the world. And the world, it seems, is very happy to partake of.
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So glad you let us know about this. I won’t be seeing the film. It sounds like a horrible way to waste money. I love Julia and Meryl as actresses but I’m tired of sadness and meaness and films that you think are comedy then turn out to be more drama. At least with Lone Survivor I knew what I was getting into. I knew not to watch it but did anyway.
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I’ve missed you, dear friend. How’s your fibromyalgia? A couple of months ago I had a fairly difficult time with it. I’m out of the woods now and have more energy to keep on…keeping on. Thankfully I was helped by my massage therapist and a naturopath who put me on supplements to correct my thyroid. Both have been of tremendous help…along with compression socks which I wear daily. Glad I could steer you away from a film that might make your fibromyalgia even more debilitating. Lots of hugs and good wishes…
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It’s always a struggle for me this time of the year. A lot has been going on and I have struggled to keep up or keep going. Just muddling through. Nice to be missed though.
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Winter is a struggle for me as well, especially here in the Pacific Northwest where rain and grey skies abound. That’s why I turn on all the lights while I’m puttering around the house. Otherwise I might easily slip into hibernation. Take care…and yes, I’ve missed your company.
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