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 hop... Read allA 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.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.
- Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations
- Young Maureen
- (as Shree Grace Crooks)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBased on a true story about a family on the run from the government, often hiding in small towns, living in poverty.
- GoofsWhen Rex and Jeannette are looking at the stars in the middle of the night, she chooses one and he says it is Venus. Not possible because Venus is only seen in the early morning in the east, or early evening in the west. However this works well with Rex's character and perhaps not a goof but intended. Rex made up stuff all the time.
- Quotes
Rex: [Rex exposes Jeanette's burned stomach] There, how's that feel?
Young Jeannette: It's so ugly, Dad, I look like a demon.
Rex: There's nothing ugly about you. You hear me? One day I promise you you're gonna look at this as just another side of how strong you are. You're a Walls, Mountain Goat. And we ain't like other people. We got a fire burning in our bellies. And that there is goddamn proof of it. Now... this knife is especially designed to hunt demons. It's very sharp. Don't take it out unless you see him. You can borrow it for the night. You know, all monsters are the same. They like to frighten people, but the minute you stare them down, they turn tail and run. I love you, Mountain Goat.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: The Glass Castle (2017)
- SoundtracksLaugh, Cry, Sing, Sigh
Written by Bill Gordon
Performed by Bill Gordon Trio
Courtesy of Fervor Records
Fortunate 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 Cretton's The Glass Castle, a story based on Jeannette Wells'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.
The 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 dad'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.
Jeannette's and Rex'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 dad's ranting. Jeannette's early accident with the stove is a visceral reminder that the bohemian life can hold some dangerous consequences.
Yet Rose's artistry is probably a source for Jeannette's writing excellence as dad's verbal fluidity is. Although he's the smartest man his daughter ever knew, he just doesn'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.
The 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 it's a great story, just like our own.
While 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.
- JohnDeSando
- Aug 23, 2017
- Permalink
- How long is The Glass Castle?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- El castillo de cristal
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $9,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $17,273,059
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,678,548
- Aug 13, 2017
- Gross worldwide
- $22,088,533
- Runtime2 hours 7 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1