Three estranged sisters return home following the disappearance of their father, Beverly (Sam Shepard). Barbara (Roberts), the favourite, is in the process of divorcing her husband (McGregor). Karen (Lewis) is unaware her sleazy fiancé (Dermot Mulroney) is more interested in her 14 year old daughter (Abigail Breslin). Ivy (Julianne Nichsolson) has a thing for her cousin (Benedict Cumberbatch), who himself has a bit of a family secret. Their mother, Violet (Streep), has become a pill addict, which she uses as a thin excuse to speak her mind at all times. You can imagine the fun the family meal becomes when they flush Mum’s stash.

August: Osage County is one of those movies that takes an A-list ensemble, gives them a few juicy parts and sits back with the camera on to watch the sparks fly. The sort of sparks that make you squirm, but be unable to look away. The film is a veritable grab bag of emotional manipulations that pulls off a trick script by virtue of some great performances. The film is based on a Pulitzer-prize winning play by Tracy Letts, the pen behind, equally uncomfortable, recent cult hits Bug and Killer Joe. But it’s the performances of the script that really push this ahead of the pack, with both Streep and Roberts nominated at most of the big awards bashes this season.