VOD film review: Joy
Review Overview
Script
6Depth
5Performances
7Victoria Curatolo | On 27, Apr 2016
Director: David O. Russell
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, Isabella Rossellini
Certificate: 12
Watch Joy online in the UK: Disney+ UK / Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / TalkTalk TV / Rakuten TV / Google Play
David O. Russell has enjoyed much success in recent years, a success particularly heightened since his collaboration with Jennifer Lawrence began. Lawrence, meanwhile, has become one of the biggest stars on the planet, gaining box office gross, critical acclaim and an Oscar along the way. While Russell gained critical and audience acclaim with 2010 biopic The Fighter, it was his 2012 comedy-drama, Silver Linings Playbook, that coined the filmmaker as one of the most progressive in his field.
Russell and Lawrence reunite for the third time with this semi-biopic drama, Joy. Lawrence portrays entrepreneur, self-made millionaire and mop queen Joy Mangano. We witness her tumultuous and chaotic life unfold, as Joy succumbs to endless defeats and tribulations. Despite Joy being a pleasant and undeniably watchable movie, the film does render on a somewhat confusing scale; the tumultuous characters walk in and out of Joy’s life continuously, with characters – such as Joy’s best friend, Jackie (Dascha Polanco), and her ex-husband, Tony (Édgar Ramírez) – feeling almost contrived. Additionally, many scenes feel convoluted, reaching the border of happening for the sake of it, leaving you uncertain of the film’s initial tone. However, Russell undoubtedly has a knack for great music taste and his latest soundtrack is no different, featuring music from The Bee Gees, Ronettes and Rolling Stones.
Joy is almost reminiscent of Martin Scorsese’s 1974 drama, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, mixed with a 1990s underdog movie. However, although everyone no doubt thrives on an underdog story, this canine walks on somewhat ‘been there, done that’ territory, and Lawrence’s performance is lacklustre. Joy is succumbed to an extreme amount of burden and stress that the majority of people would no doubt find taxing, yet she simply remains calm and almost glazed over throughout the film’s entirety: her voice is consistently monotone; she is highly agreeable; and constantly bodes a mentality of sheer indifference to an almost vacant stature. While this may be down to Russell’s execution of his protagonist, as a viewer, you can’t help but feel indifferent.
Joy is available on Disney+ UK, as part of a £7.99 monthly subscription or a £79.99 yearly subscription.