Connect with us

Film Reviews

‘The Glass Castle’ Review: Dir. Destin Daniel Cretton (2017)

The Glass House review: Woody Harrelson and Brie Larson deliver knock-out turns in this involving family drama, performances worth the admission price on their own.

The Glass House review by Paul Heath.

The Glass Castle review

Based on the 2005 personal memoir of the same name by Jeannette Walls, this involving, sometimes deeply moving drama features a stunning cast, including Oscar winner Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts.

The story revolves around the Walls family, Rex (Woody Harrelson), his wife Rose Mary (Watts), and their four children Jeannette (Larson), Lori (Sarah Snook), Brian (Josh Caras) and Maurenn (Bridget Lundy-Paine). The family are constantly uprooted from their lives, squatting in empty, run-down properties, and constantly living in poverty. They must learn to take care of themselves as their apparent free-spirited parents both hinder and inspire their growth, salt-of-the-Earth-type tortured soul Rex, willing his kids on to find their wild side, falling in and out of sobriety, but at the same time inspiring his offspring with life-lessons from the heart.

The Glass Castle review

Engrossing from the off, The Glass Castle is a wonderful piece of cinema, its greatest asset its wonderful cast. Stand-outs are the superb Woody Harrelson as Rex and Brie Larson adding to an impressive acting resume. Harrelson manages to balance the ugliness of addiction with the supreme, underlying love of a father, even though this one isn’t as devoted to the development as most. The actor is going through his own personal renaissance – in the last five years executing wonderful performances in the likes of Rampart, The Edge Of Seventeen, the still as-yet-unreleased LBJ and his TV turn with True Detective. The Glass Castle will do nothing to harm his recent reputation. Larson too is at her absolute best amongst a near note-perfect cast, the younger versions of the four siblings also worthy of mention for their individual turns.

Related: LBJ Review

Some have said that the book doesn’t match its gritty source material, and while that may be true – I haven’t read the novel – you must judge the film on its own merits, and I fell for the narrative and had no problem with the tone, which has been an issue for others.

The Glass Castle review

Destin Daniel Cretton reunites with his Short Term 12 lead in Larson on a movie much bigger in scale, but no different in terms of overall satisfaction. While it will draw comparisons with last year’s superb Captain Fantastic, which while the better film, serves as more of a companion piece than clone.

The Glass Castle, put simply, is one of the most captivating dramas of the year. This sometimes difficult to watch, impactful drama, will ultimately win you over and warm your heart, and certainly comes highly recommended from this critic.

The Glass House review by Paul Heath, October 2017.

The Glass House is released in UK cinemas on 6th October 2017.

Latest Posts

More in Film Reviews