JOY (2015)

1/27/2016 - Joy (2015) - 4+/10

Joyless. Not shabbily made, but it was choppy, inert, and nigh-unengageable. Lawrence was fine, but not ultimately superior to others work in film this year. But her character, and every other single soul on the screen, kept me at arm's length and kept me from enjoying any of them. How can all of these people, real or not, be so dislikeable and story stunting?

Perhaps it's biggest issue was O. Russell's all over the place direction. From bizarre editing and sequential storytelling to camera placement and actor/audience immersion; it was all off. There was maybe one scene reminiscent of his previous work's magic and zest, but it was fleeting and felt out of place. Also, you see EVERY GODDAMNED MOMENT IN THE TRAILER! I hate that.

This seemed to be an interesting life tale, but this movie did not provide a thoroughly enjoyable and properly executed final product. It was not awful, nor total misstep, but it certainly had issues. Pass.