The Movie Glass Castle, which was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, is inspired by the biography of the American journalist Jeanette Walls who grew up in a dysfunctional family with a nomad lifestyle.
There exists a movement in between the present and the past, showing the childhood of Jeanette but also the consequences of their lifestyle in the future.
The relationship between Jeanette, played by the actress Brie Larson, and the father is the key element of the plot, but the other members of the family also play an important part in the development of the story.
The performances are amazing in this movie, starting with the actors who play the youth in the family and ending in the extraordinary realistic performance of Naomi Watts, playing Rose, and Woody Harrelson, playing Rex.
Rose, the mother, is a clueless artist who persuades an eight-year-old to cook for herself because she would rather finish a painting than cook for her child.
Rex, the father, is an alcoholic who forces the family to be constantly on the move, always ahead of bill collectors. He is also an amazing visionary and an engineer who promises to build a glass castle for his family.
The children live in the hope of building the glass castle that is envisioned by Rex. This is the metaphor that makes them forget their situation. It fuels their hope for a better life and it makes them believe that someday their father will stop drinking.
Since the first scene we are hit with inspirational moments and with clichéd emotional runs. We are left with this feeling that this family is living a dream life, even with the abnormal behaviour of the parents.
However, the first moment that we are shocked by the reality of the deep problems in the family is when the father teaches Jeanette how to swim by pushing her to a deep pool repeatedly almost letting her drown.
But the audience is almost forced to forgive the parents for their behaviour towards the children because the children show signs of living a happy life.
The comparison between the past and the present gives the viewer a sense of confusion and even guilt. How could such a dysfunctional family share so many beautiful moments? Where this movie is inspirational it should be worrying.
I ended up feeling guilty because I loved the father but at the same time I understood that because of him his children passed cruel moments.
The colours of the narrative in the movie are important too. There is a predominant bright colour palette in the childhood scenes and a dark colour palette in the present scenes. As the movie progresses and they become more aware of their lifestyle and the problems with their family the colours transform to the dark palette. This illustrates the mood of the movie between the initial scenes and the final scenes.
This movie is a “must see”, in my opinion. The plot is smart and definitely inspiring. I lost myself in this movie. It is a rollercoaster of emotions and you didn´t know what to believe or feel in the end.