The play “August: Osage County” by Tracy Letts was adapted into a film version directed by John Wells. Both demonstrate the harsh reality of loss and addiction for some families, including Tracy Letts and his own family growing up. Both are incredibly deep, eye-opening, and moving. However, there were some important scenes within the play that ended up being left out from the film. These scenes could have benefited and added to the storyline of the movie.
The play takes place in a rural area of Oklahoma in a large country home. The disappearance of Beverly, Violet’s husband, draws their daughters along with their families back to their childhood home after they have all gone their separate ways. Violet, who is sick with mouth cancer and a pill addiction, lashes out on everyone around her and the family takes the brunt of that. Throughout the movie, secrets within the family and its members are uncovered.
Tracy Letts received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as a reward for his amazing and impactful work on the play. He also wrote the screenplay for the 2013 film adaptation of the play. Tracy Letts explains how he directly relates to “August: Osage County” because “it’s based on family history” (NPR staff para. 6). Letts also reveals that his grandmother “descended into years of downer addiction, which had a horrible impact on my family, and has ripples in my family even to this day. Watching that as a 10-year-old certainly had an impact on me” (NPR staff para. 7).
John Wells is the director of the 2013 film adaptation of “August: Osage County”. He graduated from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in 1979. He is very experienced in his field and has also directed the hit TV show “Shameless”. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role.
In the play, there is a scene where Johanna, the maid/caretaker that works for Violet, and Jean, the daughter of Barbra, have a heart to heart conversation that reveals background on Johanna’s character as well as what Jean has been going through with her family lately.
“Jean: Me neither. I did go with this boy Josh for like almost a year but he was retarded. Are you parents still together?
Johanna: They passed away.
Jean: Oh, I’m sorry.”
This scene was sadly not in the film and it could have added so much more of a backstory to both of these characters because of their more vulnerable sides being shown.
Another aspect of the film that should have been identical to the play is how Jean is way more hesitant towards Steve, Karen’s boyfriend, than what is portrayed in the film. In the film, it seems as though Jean is trying to get close with Steve, who is over thirty years older than her, and wants to almost befriend him. In the play, she is very hesitant towards him and knows that he is just trying to come onto her. This makes it appear like Jean is somewhat going along with Steve being creepy towards her and makes it look not as severe of an issue as it is. This was wrong to not keep the relationship between these two characters the same as it was in the play.
However, in the film, the dinner table scene where Violet was high on pills and taking her problems out on everyone in the family, was very well done and extremely accurate to how the play was written and intended. This scene showcased multiple sides to each character and brought out who they truly are in traumatic situations. It gave a glimpse into what this family dynamic was like before they all split up and went their separate ways. This scene is crucial to the storyline and is one of the most well known scenes in the play as well as the film.
Overall, the movie was mostly accurate to the play and the actors were extremely talented. However, there were some scenes that should have been different in the film and should have been more accurate to the play. Both the play and film were moving, impactful, and will leave you anxiously wondering what comes next.