Schloss aus Glas (2017)

Schloss aus Glas: Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. With Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts, Ella Anderson. A young girl comes of age in a dysfunctional family of nonconformist nomads with a mother who’s an eccentric artist and an alcoholic father who would stir the children’s imagination with hope as a distraction to their poverty.

“u0026quot;Your values are all confused.u0026quot; Rex (Woody Harrelson) u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFortunate we all are to have families that dysfunction in even small ways because they provide us with stories for a lifetime. Such is writer/director Destin Daniel Crettonu0026#39;s The Glass Castle, a story based on Jeannette Wellsu0026#39;s (Brie Larson) family, overloaded by a dad, Rex,whose outsized personality, big brain, and capacity for booze dominates the four children through their adult years.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe commendable element infused by writers Cretton and Andrew Lanham is the realism enfolding odd characters, where bad things happen when dad drinks and kids have to forage for food while dad shrinks their little lives as he drinks. Having no food for days is not unusual for the Wells family, due to dadu0026#39;s drinking up their meager holdings. However, the kids learn how to survive, a commendable achievement in a dependent world, even in later 20th century.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJeannetteu0026#39;s and Rexu0026#39;s relationship is the ballast of this sometimes surreal film; artist mother Rose Mary (Naomi Watts) is too busy painting to be bothered with their hunger or dadu0026#39;s ranting. Jeannetteu0026#39;s early accident with the stove is a visceral reminder that the bohemian life can hold some dangerous consequences.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eYet Roseu0026#39;s artistry is probably a source for Jeannetteu0026#39;s writing excellence as dadu0026#39;s verbal fluidity is. Although heu0026#39;s the smartest man his daughter ever knew, he just doesnu0026#39;t stop talking. The film very smartly lets us see the dark and light sides of the characters, not unbefitting a West Virginia where talking is like breathing—colorful and crass but you have to do it to survive.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe central motif of the title is the glass castle Rex hoped to build, an energy efficient beauty with glass all around to let Nature in without letting the rough invade. Well, it never gets built, and the world does intrude. Happy for us because itu0026#39;s a great story, just like our own.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile the reconciliation at the end seems too neatly tied up, most of the film has a grit to remind us that although family is not always fair, it may be the best life has to offer.”