Published on 12:00 AM, October 07, 2017

FILM Review

The Glass Castle

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Producers: Gil Netter, Ken Kao

Screenplay: Destin Daniel Cretton, Marti Noxon, Andrew Lanham

Cast: Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts, Max Greenfield

Runtime: 127min

Rating: 7.5

PLOT: The Glass Castle is adapted from the bestselling memoir of the same name by former New York gossip columnist Jeannette Walls. The movie dramatizes how the author and her siblings grew through hardship and poverty their parents put them into. Throughout the worst situations, the author and her siblings learn to take care of themselves and be responsible as their impulsive and free-spirited parents make their lives a complete mess.

REVIEW: The Glass Castle is a movie filled with amazing acting. Woody Harrelson acted as the father who was seen to be an irresponsible and eccentric dreamer with an engineered mind, but when drunk he would abuse his family. His carefree and big dreaming character will make the audience see through the author's perspective of her father. The father had a vision of a glass castle he wanted to build but that never happens due to his incapability of providing any sort of stability. Naomi Noxon as Rex's wife Rose Mary Walls was seen very little in the whole movie but she still portrayed a motherly character who is both a victim and agent of abuse. 

The character of Jeannette Walls was performed wonderfully by Brie Larson. Brie's expressions were outstanding as she tried to give her best to this movie and respecting it as someone's life story was very clear with her amazing debut in this movie. She also made sure to discuss with the author how she could adapt her gestures and make the movie more realistic. The movie itself doesn't allow the audience to feel that much for the family, because it seems like a 2-hour movie isn't big enough to show a person's entire life. Throughout the movie the craziness of the family and the abuse from the father will leave the audience surprisingly speechless. The children's hectic life and their escape from that unbelievably lunatic childhood and growing up to having a much better life is quite an inspiration for everyone. The movie can't be said to be the best, but is decent as a family biography.

Reviewed by Farhana Sharmin Ali