Joy – Movie Review
First Reaction – Joy is an important story of discovery but struggles to get out of first gear.
Watch on Joy on Netflix now.
Director: Ben Taylor
Writer: Rachel Mason, Jack Thorne (Screenplay)
Writer: Emma Gordon, Shaun Topp (Story)
Cast
- Thomasin McKenzie (Last Night in Soho)
- Bill Nighy (Living)
- James Norton (One Love)
- Rish Shah (Do Revenge)
- Nikolay Shulik (Black Mail)
Plot: 3 trailblazers: a young nurse, a visionary scientist, and an innovative surgeon face opposition from the church, state, media, and medical establishment in their pursuit of the world’s first ‘test tube baby,’ Louise Joy Brown.
Runtime: 1 Hour 55 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Joy starts when Jean Purdy (McKenzie) gets a role managing Bob Edwards’ (Norton) lab. He has been working on research to help create test tube babies but has struggled to get the job complete. They turn to experienced doctor Patrick Steptoe (Nighy) who has been shunned by science for his ideas.
As the team start their research, Jean gets challenged by her Christian upbringing and media attention. However, they know it is for the greater good and continue to search for the best possible answer and to make history.
Verdict on Joy
Recap
This movie shows the challenges three trailblazing scientists took to create the first test tube baby. They wanted to give women a chance to have children when other reasons could have stopped them from conceiving.
Best Parts
What the team achieved has changed the world and no matter what people think, their discoveries changed the world. It highlights the challenges they battled through with people going against what they were creating. Most of the focus is on Jean and her challenge with religion and science. The performances are great as Thomasin McKenzie continues to shine in any role and Bill Nighy makes for an excellent supporting performer.
Worst Parts
This does show a scientific achievement, which is a good thing. However, nothing much feels outside the generic biopic, it struggles to give us the bigger picture and achievement or show the full extent of the battle they faced.
Final Thoughts – Joy is biopic 101.