Review of The Glass Castle (2017) by Chris O — 17 Oct 2018

A beautifully shot film, even if its source may be controversial.

Chronicling the adventures of an eccentric, resilient and tight-knit family, THE GLASS CASTLE is a remarkable story of unconditional love. Oscar (R) winner Brie Larson brings Jeannette Walls's best-selling memoir to life as a young woman who, influenced by the joyfully wild nature of her deeply dysfunctional father (Woody Harrelson), found the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

"The Glass Castle" is a film that I had been wanting to see for a while. The trailers were so impactful to me and I felt like this story had a lot of potential. A second kicker? It's based on a true story. Now, I don't know anything about this story other than what the movie adapted to the screen, but that alone was so much to this film.

I'll say this; this film was beautifully composited. I thought the framing and the composition of each shot was so clean. The cinematography was solid and I thought the color pallete / tone of each scene was so beautiful. It was executed really well and if anything, this movie looks fantastic. Colors, I think, were a big part of telling the story and the production design was also done well.

The acting was also really, really powerful. Brie Larson took storm and led this film. Her collaboration with Woody Harrelson made this film so worthwhile. I thought the performances were really strong and they made this film what it was. The performances were filled with emotion and I was able to find myself attached to the characters, for that and other reasons.

Now I thought the story-telling was done well but I'm really conflicted. If this is true to the real life story, I don't know if I like the portrayal and perspective. Yes, the idea of family is beautiful but this wasn't the most sound family. Who am I to judge, right? But I don't know if I like that it seems like they were trying to justify the things that happened by wrapping it in a big bow at the end. That's the thing that brings this film down, because I don't know if I can completely support what it's saying.

In the end, "The Glass Castle" was a solid, beautifully shot film with some real emotional moments, even if it tears me in half with its values and themes.