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The Glass Castle has an affecting real-life story and a hard-working cast in its corner, but they aren't enough to outweigh a fundamentally misguided approach to the material.
All Critics (158) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (81) | Rotten (77)
Woody Harrelson gives a performance of borderline unwatchable hamminess in this really tiresome film, which sentimentally neutralises parental abuse into a supposedly fascinating angel/devil split. Oct 6, 2017 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
Woody Harrelson gives a performance of borderline unwatchable hamminess in this really tiresome film, which sentimentally neutralises parental abuse into a supposedly fascinating angel/devil split.
Peter Bradshaw
A flinty central turn from Brie Larson and a gregarious yet nonetheless repellent Woody Harrelson are the cornerstones of a family drama about alcoholism and parental abuse that refuses to rest on easy platitudes and psychological certainties. Oct 5, 2017 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
A flinty central turn from Brie Larson and a gregarious yet nonetheless repellent Woody Harrelson are the cornerstones of a family drama about alcoholism and parental abuse that refuses to rest on easy platitudes and psychological certainties.
Kevin Maher
An emotional family saga peppered with relatable themes. Oct 5, 2017 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
An emotional family saga peppered with relatable themes.
Emily Bray
[Destin Daniel] Cretton wants to make an old-fashioned melodrama but fails to stylize the material in any compelling way Aug 24, 2017 | Full Review…
[Destin Daniel] Cretton wants to make an old-fashioned melodrama but fails to stylize the material in any compelling way
Ben Sachs
Clocks in at two hours and seven minutes but it's so intense that I was hardly aware of the time. Aug 14, 2017 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
Clocks in at two hours and seven minutes but it's so intense that I was hardly aware of the time.
Rex Reed
There are heart-tugging moments in The Glass Castle, but Walls's bestselling memoir needed to be roughed up and aired out. For it to match up to the book, the movie needed the glass to be smashed, not every shard treasured. Aug 14, 2017 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…
There are heart-tugging moments in The Glass Castle, but Walls's bestselling memoir needed to be roughed up and aired out. For it to match up to the book, the movie needed the glass to be smashed, not every shard treasured.
Thelma Adams
I thought it was morally repugnant and disgusting... these parents belonged in jail. Mar 11, 2019 | Rating: F | Full Review…
I thought it was morally repugnant and disgusting... these parents belonged in jail.
Rachel Wagner
A serviceable and engaging account of Walls' story, though you can almost see the Hollywood machination at work. Feb 22, 2019 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
A serviceable and engaging account of Walls' story, though you can almost see the Hollywood machination at work.
Rachel Brook
Director Destin Daniel Cretton does an admirable job steering the film tonally, with only a handful of moments that veer fully into the oncoming traffic of the melodramatic. Feb 11, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Director Destin Daniel Cretton does an admirable job steering the film tonally, with only a handful of moments that veer fully into the oncoming traffic of the melodramatic.
Allen Adams
It's got a talented cast that manage to create a few powerful moments, but overall the film feels contrived and hollow. Unlike the book. Jan 31, 2019 | Full Review…
It's got a talented cast that manage to create a few powerful moments, but overall the film feels contrived and hollow. Unlike the book.
Amanda Greever
A flawed, but promising family drama, The Glass Castle might be fairly accused of playing things too even-handed. Dec 19, 2018 | Full Review…
A flawed, but promising family drama, The Glass Castle might be fairly accused of playing things too even-handed.
Matt Ward
The Glass Castle is tonally uneven and haphazard, and intentionally so. It accurately captures the experience of living in a dysfunctional family... Nov 24, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…
The Glass Castle is tonally uneven and haphazard, and intentionally so. It accurately captures the experience of living in a dysfunctional family...
Joel Mayward
The story of a very unusual family plays on two time frames, with the emphasis on the past for quite a while. Harrelson is fantastic, of course, but so are the child actors. There are slow moments, but overall the story remains fascinating, never entirely judging the unconventional parents, always on the fence between failure and deep love. The fact that the pendulum ultimately falls very clearly on one of the two sides makes for a pretty touching ending, too.
Super Reviewer
Based on a best-selling memoir, The Glass Castle is a compelling character drama about family. As newspaper columnist Jeannette Walls prepares to start a new life with her fiancé she struggles to break free from her homeless parents whose bohemian lifestyle constantly kept them on the move and in poverty throughout her childhood. Starring Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, and Naomi Watts, the film has a strong cast that gives some really good performances (especial Harrelson). And the script is incredibly well-written; telling parallel stories in the past and present that are both engaging and enhance each other, creating suspense and intrigue. However, the epilogue-ish ending seems forces and kind of counters a lot of the dramatic conflict and character growth. Yet despite its few weaknesses, The Glass Castle is a remarkably touching film.
Interesting true story, but honestly wore it's welcome out halfway through. I cared enough to finish it, but it was 2 hours that felt like 3.
The Glass Castle had its few moments of shines and tears to wipe away, but under the hood is where the film relies a huge problem on. Can be forgettable during time beings if not claimed to love it nor hate it. but somewhere in the middle that gives that mixed opinion feeling. If you want to find a better way to watch this film, wait for it on rental.
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