Review of Joy (2015) by Jerome K — 15 Apr 2016

This was an alright film, but it felt like a step down compared to David O. Russell's previous work like Silver Linings Playbook or American Hustle. There's some good acting, but there are too many characters, so you don't really get time to invest in any of them except Joy herself.

When one of them dies halfway through the film, it didn't feel like it mattered. Honestly, though, I have a hard time recommending this to most people, because for 90% of the film, it makes you feel like almost all people are selfish pricks.

Obviously, this film is about Joy's struggle before she made it big, but I think Russell went a little overboard in fictionalizing it.