Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Writer: Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Lanham (Screenplay) Jeannette Walls (Book)
Starring: Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts, Ella Anderson, Chandler Head, Max Greenfield
Plot: A young girl comes of age in a dysfunctional family of nonconformist nomads with a mother who’s an eccentric artist and an alcoholic father who would stir the children’s imagination with hope as a distraction to their poverty.
Tagline – Home goes wherever we go
Runtime: 2 Hours 7 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Solid, but Overly Long Biopic
Story: The Glass Castle starts as Jeannette (Larson) starts to remember her childhood after seeing her parents Rex (Harrelson) and Rose Mary (Watts) digging through trash in New York City, a place she is shining in. Jeannette along with her siblings Lori, Maureen and Brian are raise off the radar by their parents, in a place where then can be at one with nature, having to learn how to look after themselves, no turning to anyone for help. As we learn more about the childhood Jeannette is preparing to let her family know of her engagement to David (Greenfield) and the difference in the lifestyles they have.
Thoughts on The Glass Castle
Characters – Jeannette has become popular in the gossip world, she has been driven by her upbringing which saw her living off the grid on the poverty line without a proper education at a younger age, she is a self-made woman. Rex is the father of the household, he cares dearly for his family, but he does have an alcohol problem which has caused the strain on the relationship between his children. Rose Mary is the mother of the household while also being an artist, she supports her children and Rex, he becomes the bridge between the two when things aren’t going well. The rest of the characters we meet are the siblings who we don’t learn too much about their own personal stories with their parents and David her fiancée of Jeannette’s.
Performances – We have three of the biggest talents in Hollywood here, Brie Larson is good in her leading role, but you must give credit to the younger stars who also played the character, Ella Anderson and Chandler Head. Woody Harrelson is the star of this show, he shows how he could be the most likely guy one second, but your worst enemy the next as his character struggles with their demons. Naomi Watts is solid, but wasted at times with her role which doesn’t get enough screen time. The rest of the cast a good without being truly great.
Story – The story is about one of a group of siblings realizing how important her difficult childhood was to drive her to become the strong woman she is now. Well, that is the general feel about the story and it interesting to see how it unfolds, but it just doesn’t see like it was the most engrossing to be a 2 hour plus movie. You feel like nothing is original in the film and I am aware it is someone personal story, it just isn’t somebody that seems famous enough to grab an audience, even though the hardship could be harder hitting.
Biopic– When it comes to biopics you do feel like you want the film to be either an incredible story off overcoming something or the road to greatness, this offer neither.
Settings – The settings show how the siblings were raised in the open country but were drawn to the big city to become successful in life.
Scene of the Movie – College.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is too long.
Final Thoughts –This is an overly long drama biopic about seemingly a random woman which doesn’t help pull us into caring about where things go.
Overall: Slow biopic that doesn’t hit the emotional marks it should.
Rating
