Glass Castle

The Glass Castle, the memoir written by Jeannette Walls about her tumultuous childhood with a dysfunctional family garnered well-deserved praise. Walls recounts her childhood of poverty. Her family moved constantly; their nomadic lifestyle was steered by her parent’s free-spirit rebellion, but it was also fueled by her father’s alcoholism. The title comes from the glass castle her father Rex promised to build for his family. As a child, it was proposed to Jeannette as a dream house, a reward for all of their years of trouble. But in reality, it was a sales pitch used to keep her entertained and occupied, one that gradually become a symbol of the complicated devotion and disappointment she felt toward her father.

The book was praised, but its film adaptation was a box office and critical failure. Critics panned it for being cheesy and melodramatic, but I believe the lead performances elevate it above that. Brie Larson plays Walls as an adult trying to distance herself from her family through hard work and financial success. She is complemented well by a young cast of actors playing Walls and her siblings throughout her childhood. Naomi Watts is strong as a loving, smart, but not always wise mother. But it is Woody Harrelson embodying Rex that carries the film. I can see how the story and writing could have settled into the melodramatic but Harrelson’s portrayal saved it. He did not leave the character as a trope of a lazy, drunk, bad father. Harrelson played all sides so well—the drunk and the dreamer. You cheer for him, fear him, and everything in between all at the same time. The love letter Walls wrote for her dad is completed as Harrelson brings him back to life as a father who did love his kids but just couldn’t beat everything going against him. His performance alone, showing how complex and nuanced anybody’s father could be, made the film a stronger adaptation than what it was credited.