‘The Glass Castle’ Movie Review

Movie Poster via IMDb

OK, I’ll be the first to admit that I read this book a looooong time ago. I know it was 2015 because I remember reading it at a conference in Chicago. I told myself I’d see the movie when it came out but I’m terrible at seeing movies in a timely fashion. I was on my way home from California when I started watching it on the in-plane entertainment app. We landed before I could finish it so I wrapped it up over the weekend. I don’t have a great memory of the book, so please comment with more if you can.

Things I Thought Were Awesome

Woody Harrelson. I feel like he gets a bad reputation for being a bad actor, but I don’t agree. He’s very good at playing a drunk or a drug addict! Rex seems like a role made for him and he did a great job with it. The emotional highs and lows were believable and I felt like Woody might have really experienced those emotions.

If you only watch one part of this movie, watch the credits. There are interviews with the Walls kids and video clips of Rose Mary and Rex from the time they were living homeless in New York. It was amazing to see Rex and how well Harrelson embodied him. The interviews were great because the kids shared their memories of getting a star and it mirrored that scene in the movie so well.

Changes That Didn’t Really Bother Me

More of the movie concentrated on Jeannette’s time in the present, with David, than I remember from the book. It was fine by me, interesting enough, but I felt like it was just to give Brie Larson more screen time. I wanted to be with the Walls family in Welsh or traveling across the country in a van more, but the writers found a way to keep it interesting and I liked it well enough.

Cover image via Goodreads

Things That Were Taken Out and I’m Still Wondering Why

Not taken out, but shortened. Her time in college! I was amazed that Jeannette went through school with no family support the way she did. That was the most empowering part of her story for me because it overlapped with my life. I was really amazed by her strength there.

Things That Changed Too Much

Rose Mary’s problems. It was clear in the book that both of Jeannette’s parents contributed to her challenging upbringing. While Rex had problems with drinking, Rose Mary would hide food from her children and couldn’t hold a job. Her issues were really downplayed in the movie to focus on Rex and I think it took away from the book as a whole.

I’d have a lot more to say if it hadn’t been so long between when I read the book and seeing the film. I liked the movie but I’m sure there were parts left out that I would have liked to see. Reader, have you seen The Glass Castle movie? What did you think?

Until next time, write on.

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