August: Osage County (15)

Directed by John Wells

4 Stars

This adaptation of Tracy Letts's Pulitzer Prize-winning play by the writer himself is a hotbed of tensions and rivalries which erupt when a dysfunctional family is brought together by the disappearance of the patriarch.

Set in the sweltering heat of Oklahoma it is perhaps unsurprisingly full of fiercely strong women and weak or flawed men.

Meryl Streep is sublime as the pill-popping, acid-tongued Violet who, despite suffering with mouth cancer, insists on tongue-lashing everyone in her wake, particularly her three long-suffering daughters.

When her husband Beverly (Sam Shepherd) goes missing they all return home to look after her and there they are all forced to face some stark truths and disturbing family revelations.

Eldest daughter Barbara (Julia Roberts) has marital problems of her own yet she takes charge and clashes the most violently with her mother, whom she eventually ends up trying to strangle.

Directed by John Wells it's all very theatrical, rather like watching a masterclass in acting.

Streep and Roberts, both nominated for Oscars, are phenomenal and the latter gives the most powerful and raw performance of her career.

They are joined by an enviable supporting cast which includes Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor, Juliette Lewis, Benedict Cumberbatch and Abigail Breslin.

But the mounting vitriolic confrontations between Beverly and Barbara keep you glued to the screen as you watch this family slowly tear itself apart limb from limb.

Maria Duarte