Simply A Masterpiece

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This movie really bothered me. Rex Walls was not a misunderstood man whose demons excused the neglect and abuse he made his family suffer. He was a drunk con-artist who made his family suffer by not providing them with food or shelter. He was also an expert in conning his children into believing that he actually loved and cared about them. The Mom was not portrayed properly, she was equally complicit with the neglect and horrible childhood those children endured. The movie should have been about the children and how they somehow managed to thrive, not their horrible alcoholic father and lazy mother.

The Glass Castle" based on actual events is based off the the best-selling memoir Jeanette Walls and about her unusual and unorthodox upbringing by her parents (Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts). Rex and Rose Mary Walls were a fiercely nomadic married couple of four children, three daughters and a son. Though the family's life is built around freedom of convention, regulations and materialism around the house, they're dependent on striving towards their own individual endeavours which includes to appreciate learning, love of nature, for exploring the facets of life and for living in utopia like pipe dreams.That might sound good on paper, but in the real world, there's a cornucopia of drawbacks for this kind of free-thinking environment they live in. The family is constantly migrating from one home to another making them feel alienated by people around them. Their schooling is no properly fundamental, sure they're home-schooled, but not under educational restrictions. Even food, shelter, heating, air conditioning is very scarce to total deprivation. To make matters worse, Rex is a chronic inebriate with a temper to match which is the perfect catalyst for empathy over ideology. His idea of education is through living and everything else is bull, contrary to the "swim or sink" lessons we've learned in school. In spite of being an alcoholic and a dreamer, he is quite naturally intelligent with a gift of engineering. However, his ideological beliefs and carefree demeanour counterbalances between being unmotivated and depressed and his inner manifestations leads him to drink. For Rose Mary her ambitions is to be an artist, her real work embellishes the film. Her dreams are there, but her drive is absent and her reality check comes into play as she neglects to the people who need her the most.Like youth, adults can build their lifestyles off of dreams, even settling in a condemned home that's deprived of indoor plumbing labeled as the metaphoric "glass castle" (hence the title). Sure it seems exciting that the children live in a world in which they are free to be themselves, only drawback is the societal norms and reality does come by and that the parents need to at times get their heads out of those clouds. It comes to point where the kids need to be self taught if their parents won't provide the nurture for them. Sure it's all right to dream, but if it becomes more a part of your life it becomes more self-serving and careless to the breaking point that Rex and Rose Mary might be unfit to raise their children.Under the direction of Destin Daniel Cretton he directed a brilliant nuanced story complimented by an ensemble of well-versed performances. Along with veteran performers like Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts, Brie Larson is showing that super stardom is inches away. She's shown her acting in chops in her Oscar winning performance in "Room" and here as Jeanette she's turning in one great performance after another. The other actors who play their kids from different ages were wonderful too especially provocative was Ella Anderson who played Jeanette at the age of 11. And yes like all family themed stories, "The Glass Castle" has its moments of laughter, tears, fear and tragedy along with the more material moments that are light, dark, high, low, triumph and failure.And sure the characters had their imperfections, but who doesn't? Sure dreamers understand other dreamers, but Rex makes his dreaming more complex being that his ambitions should have been put to help instead it hurt the people around him. Aside from the movie there features various extras that you might enjoy including nine deleted scenes, a half-hour feature an intriguing interview with the real Jeanette Walls and a great behind the scenes footage of the song "Summer Sonf" by Rex Walls.

I remember reading this book in high school, and to this day it's my favorite. This movie is now one of my favorites. They captured everything that needed to be said and done. I'm thrilled that I finally got to see what I imagined as a read this novel. Absolutely amazing!!

Granted I didn't read the book, so there's your grain of salt. How was this movie not on the tip of everybody's tongue? Relatable to anyone who's had a dysfunctional relationship, be it with friends or family. A must watch!