The Glass Castle

First, this film is apparently based on a true story, so it makes no sense to criticize the message. Life is messy. Please do not take my review as an appeal to make all films tidy and redemptive. That said, not all true stories are worth committing to film and being held up as examples of family commitment and unconditional love. I found the "heart" of this film to be twisted and dark, and the message to be potentially harmful to people with truly abusive and heartbreaking family circumstances. Woody Harrelson plays an abusive drunk who terrorizes and mercilessly deprives his own children. He also meticulously manipulates his co-dependent wife to enable his dysfunctions and remain cooperative with every sick development, including the sexual molestation of their son by his own grandmother. This is supposed to be "balanced" by the fact that he is a dreamer who is occasionally nice. Heck, he even coughed up some tuition money. Once. After stealing money from the same kid earlier. What a great dad. As the kids mature and literally escape into independence as adults, the mentally deranged parents follow them all the way to New York City and continue to sabotage their happiness. When a family member attempts to draw boundaries in order to establish some sanity and peace, they all conspire to leverage one another back into the nightmare with guilt trips. The central character, one of the daughters, actually manages to put together a relatively sane life (one in which she copes with her background by lying to others about it), but is repeatedly told by the father that she is not really happy and craves his brand of freedom and "adventure". "Down is up, left is right," says the sociopath. The nice, happy part of the movie is when the dad finally dies, making it easier for the remaining family to gloss over and romanticize the brutal treatment they received as the children and wife of a lazy, booze-addled abuser. I gave it an 8 out of 10 because it is well acted, convincing, and impeccably made. I just find it to be utterly aimless and warped as a work of storytelling, and it eludes me what people find charming or heartwarming about it.

I don't expect movies to follow the book exactly, because I get that a movie is a totally different medium of storytelling. But it IS a problem when the movie fails to capture the essence of the book at all. If you were to just watch the movie and not read the book, you would be robbed of the extremes that exist in this story. Jeannette's life of poverty and imagination is more awful than the movie portrays and more magical than it portrays. Strangely, the movie walked this middle ground, showing glimpse from her life but not really getting to the heart of why we care. Skip the movie, and read the book!

'THE GLASS CASTLE': Four Stars (Out of Five) The new drama adapted from the 2005 memoir (of the same name) by Jeannette Walls, based on her experiences growing up in a poor dysfunctional family. The film was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (who also helmed the 2013 critical darling 'SHORT TERM 12'), and it was written by Cretton and Andrew Lanham. The movie stars Brie Larson (who also starred in 'SHORT TERM 12'), Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts, Ella Anderson, Chandler Head and Max Greenfield. The film has received mixed reviews from critics, and it's performed modestly at the Box Office so far. I found it to be a little too long, and slow-paced, but it's mostly a very moving and enjoyable film. The story is told from Jeannette's (Larson) point of view, as an adult, as she recollects on growing up as a child in extreme poverty. Her mother, Rose Mary (Watts), was an eccentric artist, and her father, Rex (Harrelson), was a free-spirited alcoholic. Jeannette, and her three siblings, were constantly forced to move, and often times they didn't have enough to eat, or ideally safe conditions to live in. The whole time Rex filled the children's heads with unrealistic hopes and dreams of a better life. The movie is filled with one heartbreaking scene after another, I cried multiple times throughout the entire film. Larson plays the central character in it (as an adult), but Harrelson actually has far more screen time; and he's the real star of the movie (in my opinion) as well. As flawed a character as he is, Harrelson's character is also (in some ways) the most relatable, at least for me, due to his dreams and generally positive outlook on life. The film has many great moments in it too, but it seems to lose it's way at times, and it's sometimes a pain to sit through (due to it's pacing). 'SHORT TERM 12' is definitely a much better film, but this movie had a lot of potential to it. I think it's definitely still worth seeing. Watch an episode of our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/j_XDrmlMJNY

"Your values are all confused." Rex (Woody Harrelson) Fortunate we all are to have families that dysfunction in even small ways because they provide us with stories for a lifetime. Such is writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton's The Glass Castle, a story based on Jeannette Wells's (Brie Larson) family, overloaded by a dad, Rex,whose outsized personality, big brain, and capacity for booze dominates the four children through their adult years. The commendable element infused by writers Cretton and Andrew Lanham is the realism enfolding odd characters, where bad things happen when dad drinks and kids have to forage for food while dad shrinks their little lives as he drinks. Having no food for days is not unusual for the Wells family, due to dad's drinking up their meager holdings. However, the kids learn how to survive, a commendable achievement in a dependent world, even in later 20th century. Jeannette's and Rex's relationship is the ballast of this sometimes surreal film; artist mother Rose Mary (Naomi Watts) is too busy painting to be bothered with their hunger or dad's ranting. Jeannette's early accident with the stove is a visceral reminder that the bohemian life can hold some dangerous consequences. Yet Rose's artistry is probably a source for Jeannette's writing excellence as dad's verbal fluidity is. Although he's the smartest man his daughter ever knew, he just doesn't stop talking. The film very smartly lets us see the dark and light sides of the characters, not unbefitting a West Virginia where talking is like breathing—colorful and crass but you have to do it to survive. The central motif of the title is the glass castle Rex hoped to build, an energy efficient beauty with glass all around to let Nature in without letting the rough invade. Well, it never gets built, and the world does intrude. Happy for us because it's a great story, just like our own. While the reconciliation at the end seems too neatly tied up, most of the film has a grit to remind us that although family is not always fair, it may be the best life has to offer.

It was not easy for Woody to play this character, but he did an outstanding job!! I was transfixed by this movie despite the sadness due to the very good acting of all members of the family. But it revolved around Woody. I totally disagree with the bad review I just read. I never read the book so maybe that is why?

First off, I have never read the book the film is based on and had no real understanding of what I was about to watch. But I decided to go to the theater today and give it shot. I had recently watched "short term 12" also directed be Destin Daniel Cretton. Since he was on my radar I noticed "The glass castle" was just being released so I figured why not see it but unfortunately it didn't really feel like a valuable use of my time. Like previous reviewers have said this film is not nearly as effective as a movie like "captain fantastic" in depicting a unconventional family. All in all it just feels very dry and pointless, in a strange way. I can't recommend this one. Really wanted to like it.

Raising children is not easy. Being a child growing up in an unstable relationship and general instability character wise (parents wise that is), is not easy either. This movie is not easy to watch is what I'm trying to say. But it is rewarding if you are into dramas and really good performances. The lines are blurred between good and bad, and what parenting is about and how or what you should learn from the usually most important people in your life. Woody Harrelson gives a powerhouse performance, which elevates but is also enhanched through the other great performances. As the saying goes, what doesn't kill you ... So if you like slow moving drama with a distraught time line, this is the one you may like

This movie really bothered me. Rex Walls was not a misunderstood man whose demons excused the neglect and abuse he made his family suffer. He was a drunk con-artist who made his family suffer by not providing them with food or shelter. He was also an expert in conning his children into believing that he actually loved and cared about them. The Mom was not portrayed properly, she was equally complicit with the neglect and horrible childhood those children endured. The movie should have been about the children and how they somehow managed to thrive, not their horrible alcoholic father and lazy mother.

Bottom line: As a movie *out of context from what really happened*, it is a well put together movie. Here's the problem though: The Glass Castle book is about a woman's traumatic life under the thumb of two psychologically damaged parents pass on psychological trauma and abuse to their children. We see parents lie to their children for their own selfish needs, put false hope in their heads only to let them down, and, of course, they also expose their children to other kinds of terrible behaviour. Unfortunately, the movie is a classic Hollywood portrayal of such a subject. We go through a few key points that occurred in the book, only to have that counterpointed with points in the screenplay as to why the parents are actually sympathetic people, and why (at the end of the day) they truly cared about the children deep down. The movie actually leaves audiences with the feeling and idea that the main character feels "lucky" to have the *terrible and abusive experience* she did in childhood. Absolutely no *true* responsibility is assigned to the parents that abused their children in this movie-just the idea that they are sympathetic screw ups that tried their best. Child abuse is a serious subject, and of course, we can leave it to Hollywood to take a memoir about that dark subject and turn it into a classic bitter-sweet tale of a dysfunctional (but of course all-American!) family simply getting through their lives as best as they can while deep down caring about their children.

"The Glass Castle" (2017 release; 127 min.) brings the story, "based on a true story" as we are reminded when the movie opens, of Jeannette Walls' upbringing in a dysfunctional family. As the movie opens, we Jeannette, all grown up, is having dinner with her fiancé in New York. On the way home after dinner, she sees her mom and dad, obviously homeless, rummaging the streets of Manhattan. We then go back in time, it's probably the 1950s. Jeannette's mom is busy doing her paintings, so Jeannette is forced to fix lunch for herself, and accidentally sets herself on fire. It's not long before Jeannette's dad decides that her hospital stay has lasted long enough, and he sneaks her out... At this point we're 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you';; just have to see for yourself how it all plays out. Couple of comments: this movie marks the reunion between writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton and actress Brie Larson--they did the under-appreciated "Short Term 12" together a few years ago. Here they tackle a difficult task, namely how to bring the 2005 iconic memoir of Jeannette Walls to the big screen. I read the memoir, and there is a reason it is considered an absolute classic. It is crucial then to find the right performers for the key roles, and I believe that casting Woody Harrelson in the key role of Rex (Jeannette's crazy and drunk dad) was a mistake, for no other reason than Harrelson (whom I love otherwise) is simply too old for the role (he is mid-50s in real life). But there are other problems too: some of the scenes look so... staged! You can practically hear the director yell "And... action!", check out the awkward arm-wrestling match between Rex and David (Jeannette's fiancé). Last, but certainly not least, is that some of the material is so inherently unlikable that it feels wrong seeing it on the big screen (as opposed to reading it, where you can process it in the confines of your own privacy). Each time Rex says "Things are going to be different this time around", you just want to slap him straight. On the plus side, there are some terrific performances, none more so than the two actresses who play Jeannette at a younger age. Given the long shadow of the 2005 memoir, maybe no film could ever have done justice to the memoir, who knows. One thing is for sure: this particular movie is an awkward and ultimately disappointing adaptation. "The Glass Castle" opened wide this weekend, and I really was looking forward to this. The Saturday early evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was attended okay. Yet I can't see this playing in theaters all that long, to be honest. The movie is simply not that good, and in a few weeks will be buried by other new movies. If you've read the book, approach this with caution, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.