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'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.

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As the sister of someone extremely like Rex, I was disturbed, heart- broken, and reminded of my life growing up with an unpredictable, intelligent, unstable, and sometimes very charming man. His children loved him inexplicably but they are still living with the effects of their tumultuous life.

This movie, in my opinion, was fabulous. It was well paced and the dual story lines of past and current day melded beautifully. All of the acting was superb. Woody Harrelson deserves an Academy Award and all of the child actors were phenomenal. I was especially impressed by Ella Anderson who played young Jeannette. She expressed so clearly her emotions, both love, hurt, and anger at her father and with that I believe she also deserves kudos.

Go see this movie if you enjoy deep, emotional, thought-provoking films.

I read the book many years ago when it first came out and found it fascinating. The film may not be up to some people's wants - there is not enough time to tell the whole story. Four children born into a very dysfunctional family. An eccentric mother who probably should not have had children, married to an alcoholic dreamer - and a talker of his dreams. BUT neither take good care of the children and the children end up raising themselves. I have always felt that all families are dysfunctional - with varying levels of function. Woody's character has many issues from his childhood and only one is made known. He has many demons to fight and mostly he doesn't fight - he dreams. I am not a fan of Woody Herrelson however this is a good role for him. I am most impressed with the acting of the younger cast - to be able to show the real emotions of those siblings - well done. I think it tells the story well given the obvious time constraints of a film. The emotions ere and believable.

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

The acting and writing for this movie are great, however, I think it missed the mark in terms of what of this incredible story the screen writers chose to focus on. I read the book as an amazing story of resilience, and while the film certainly didn't shy from the fact that Walls thrived despite the neglect and emotional abuse she endured as a child, it played more like a story about her relationship with her father than as a personal story about her tenacity to survive despite it all. I found the book inspiring. The movie didn't inspire as much as it pulled the heart strings. In the end her parents looked a bit too sympathetic, and I left the theater feeling that us viewers were robbed of some of the most raw and telling details her of her childhood, the details that best illustrated just how trying and unique her life was growing up. In all, though I thought the acting was great, I think the meat of Jeanette's personal story of transformation was sacrificed to make space for telling the specific story of her relationship with her father.