For once a theatrical trailer relates accurately to a movie: Joy's promotional trailer is so confusing as the film as a whole. I couldn't identify what I was seeing, and the movie only confirmed this first impression.
Don't get me wrong, I was interested in the story. I wasn't bored or anything like it. But I couldn't care enough about the main character. At the end, though, I left the theater and the movie remained there. It didn't leave with me, not even a tiny bit of it. Uncomfortable is a nice word to describe what I felt during the screening.
The whole time a thought was nagging me: it is David O. Russel! Were are the witty dialogues, heartfelt story, endearing characters? Nothing makes sense here. He tries to tell us something and goes to the other direction. Even the attempt to show how success didn't extinguish Joy's familiar issues felt empty. Even her success were meaningless. The whole reason to make this film is moot, actually. Such a waste of a potentially good biography, talented actors and a brilliant filmmaker.
David O. Russell probably tried to replicate the resounding success of Silver Linings Playbook (2012), and the casting is an evidence of that intention. In her, he failed miserably. It hasn't been difficult to notice how Jennifer Lawrence has been protecting the director in interviews and awards. This failure is not easy for sure, but it doesn't define O. Russell for me. I still have hope in him.
The main focus on my comments here is to tell about my experience with a movie. Because of that I must add to my distress during this film the realization that more and more persons are choosing seats on "my" exclusive first row. That's a even bigger bummer for me, the agoraphobic movie goer that despise being around people on a movie theater.
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| Joy. Directed by David O. Russell. With: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper. Writers: David O. Russell, Annie Mumolo. USA, 2015, 124 min., Dolby Digital, Color (Cinema). |
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