Weinstein Company, The, Jean Doumanian Productions, Smokehouse Pictures,
Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor, Margo Martindale, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard, Misty Upham
Violet Weston (Meryl Streep) has an addiction to drugs and booze, and now is suffering from Cancer. She’s tough to put up with, and her husband has finally had it and has walked out. Her daughters come back home to visit, and during the time together, all the family secrets come out and long built up resentments bubble out in a classic family battle. Each one is forced to look at herself and what they see is not all that pretty.
This is a story of a really, really dysfunctional family. Most people have no idea what it’s like to grow up like this, and the problems you have to face, but I can imagine it’s a lot more common than most of us might think. I was impressed with the acting put in by these excellent performers. What a stunning lineup of stars. But I wasn’t as impressed with the story line. I can’t put my finger on what I didn’t like, but the story is just uncomfortable. Now sometimes a story can be uncomfortable for a greater purpose. But in this one, I didn’t get that feeling at all. It was kind of like being on a double date with a friend and his girl when they suddenly get into a horrible fight. You’re trapped in the back seat with nothing to do or say to but just feel uncomfortable. That’s the kind of feeling I had here. I sat through it, but never really felt at ease. The relationships are badly broken. This is a very unusual character for Meryl Streep. You want to feel bad for her, but you just can’t, she’s not a nice character. It’s a very unusual film, and may be well liked by the right crowd, but as for me, I could have skipped this one. It’s ok, but just not that stellar.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
