The Glass Castle

Infuriatingly balanced between good and bad memories of a childhood stuck with deliberately negligent parents. I hear a lot of talk about how the parents were "free spirited" or "non-conformist," but all I saw were a pair of adults who'd rather paint and drink than feed and clothe their children, and the half-beatification of those people is nothing short of offensive. But my hat goes off to Harrelson, who was nothing short of awesome and I'm a sucker for the '60's and '70's in film.

Jarring mismatch between the excellent film-making and acting, versus the offputting story and message. The ending and emotional climax genuinely brings down the film several notches as Harrelson's father, who has been built up as a complex but horrifying antagonist, is celebrated in death. "Life was never boring" indeed.

A few good moments early on, particularly the scenes between the eleven year old Jeanette and her dad, don't quite make up for the false Hollywood schmaltz of the unearned ending.

The story is gripping, but even in Jeannette Walls' own words (in her memoir of the same name) the conflict of sentimentality and abuse is difficult to reconcile. The struggle is greater in a brief film also asking the viewer to suspend disbelief at shifting child actors and Brie Larson playing an age gap of 20 years. There are powerful scenes and strong performances, but as a whole the film disturbs rather than compels.

Good acting performances. A retrospective that chronicles the tumultuous history of a family of vagabonds. A poignant look at lives lived outside the normal bounds of society. It was easy to get invested in the engaging and interesting history, and it exposes a few sad revelations that came along with their free spirited lifestyle and their fathers unconventional attitudes.

A heartfelt story about a family raised with free-spirited parenting, refusing to conform to the modern society. Brie is amazing as we get to reflect on family history as she lives this modern lifestyle. I wish I read the book, and plan to. You wonder what it takes in a child to ultimately forgive their parent when their time comes.

Great acting, especially by Harrelson. It was a great film until the ending, which left me dumbfounded. The filmmakers spent the better part of an hour and forty-five minutes telling us how awful Harrelson's character was, only to have endless praise heaped upon him after his passing.

This film touched me and shows the consequences of alcohol abuse More reviews here : http://movie-freak.be [Full review]

Fantastic performances & scenes that keep you riveted throughout, but ends w/ the kind of dangerous message American society absolutely doesn't need. This kind of film -which could be subtitled The Hidden Perks of Having Irresponsible & Negligent Parents - wouldn't get made in a saner society. I understand modern America promotes seeing value in everyone/thing, but what's good about putting some varnish on the worst society has to offer? I'm sure traumatized war vets have some happy memories too

Not sure that I agree in the way they "praise" the dad. When that is said, I respect how they as a family have chosen to survive and find the good in all the bad. Thumps up for Harrelson and Larson. *Good

Dumb, boring cliché-clusterfuck. I really hate when people make melodrama out of serious issues actual people suffer or have suffered from. Fuck that prick of a dad and fuck that coward of a mom. And fuck him for drowning in self-pity at the end. And fuck everyone else for fucking celebrating him. And fuck the MPAA for not giving this an R-Rating. This movie is trivializing and romanticizing sick and dangerous behavior and shouldn't be allowed to be shown to kids without context or commentary.

Bloated but affecting. I found many personal connections to the film that probably bolster the score for me. Woody was fire.

This movie left me conflicted. On the one hand, I like some of the characters, especially Harrelson's portrayal. On the other hand, I feel like something is wrong and I wouldn't have interpreted the story the same way as the film did (I felt the same way about the book). But it sure makes you think.

A few great moments, but strangely uneven. The ending seemed especially saccharine and overly simplistic. I haven't read the actual memoir it's based on, but the film felt like a somewhat "Hallmarkified" version of what is likely a far more deep and complex work.

The source book was great, but this proves it doesn't work as a movie. Decisions here make this worse. In the book, we're presented with a dad who is messed up, but through Jeannette's heartfelt narration we come to understand and sympathize with him. We can't see through Jeannette's eyes here. Rex's worst behavior is exagerrated for the sake of maximizing drama, and the first half of the book has been eliminated altogether. And every other character (except her mom) has been reduced to 2D.

What a clumsy, heavy-handed take on a brilliant, heartfelt book. Just a total saccharine, Oscar-trawling mess of a film. Utterly unconvincing roles, like the CW or Marvel's glossy-magazine-photo shoot take on Appalachian life; all the costumes bought new & factory pre-distressed from the Gap. Total garbage. Everything I hate about modern mainstream filmmaking is embodied here. Only salvaged in the slightest by the great underpinning story they were given to work with. Harrelson couldn't save it.

???????????????????……/?????????????push????????????????/?????????????????????????/"?????????…"/"?????????????????????????????"/"When everone else's junk is broken and forgotten, you'll still have your own stars."

They really missed a "generation" actor between young and adult, which was extremely distracting for Jeanette. Apart from that, there were beautiful scenes between Harrelson and Anderson/Head. Overall engaging, heartwarming and brutal, whereas the end emphasizes far too much on a "do not speak ill of the dead" vibe.

Found the hippy family and alcoholic father bit to be simple and unaffecting despite creating the illusion of complexity. How much can you buy into the dad-and-kids-howling-at-the-moon "good times?" I didn't at all. I honestly wonder if something as simple as recasting the father with McConaughey could have made me more conflicted about the good-vs-bad. Harrelson is too typecast. A few nice visual moments however. Overall - too obvious with its emotional manipulation to leave a mark on me.

It had its moments. Ella Anderson's performance as young Jeannette is sublime.

Woody Harrelson GTFO: Daddy Issues Edition

I finished the book the week before I watched the movie, so it was definitely hard not to compare the two as I was watching the movie. As usual, the book wins.

Charming story. I didn't find the family as fantastic or strange as the film was trying to make them seem. Pretty normal, but a story about normal people isn't bad. Just wasn't anything special.

Entertainment: 3.5/4. Spirituality: 0.5/3. Sustainability: 1/3.

1571: impressive

Many of it's film making styles feel borrowed from other movies, and that is certainly distracting and noticeable from the viewers perspective, but the film itself harrows a terrifying true story led by a masterclass performance from Woody Harrelson.

The story of Jeanette Walls' family is an achingly poignant one, exposing deep imperfections amid remarkable beauty. It's a story of navigating damaging family dysfunction while still realizing the profound dignity of even the most damaged family members. Ugliness and selfishness abound here. But then again, so do hope and courage.

Daddy issues: the Reagan years.