The Glass Castle

Some movies can be accused of glamorizing poverty or abuse. This movie takes verbal, physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse and packages it like a neatly decorated dessert at Starbucks. The protagonist's attempts at moving on with her life are treated as frivolous denials of her true identity. Rather than having anything insightful to say about the complicated relationship one shares with their parents following an abusive childhood, this movie pivots so abruptly to see the woman literally run back into the toxic, cultlike relationship she and her family once shared. It does this with all the sentimentality of a Hallmark movie, and the combination of the two is is jarring and feels like being slapped across the face before your assailant gives you a kiss to make it all better.

But for the superb acting this film gets a D from me for many reasons. The true grit was left out of the film and for the wrong reasons. Hollywood always tries to make "the hard life" seem like it is all polished and neatly tied up with a bow. And to top it off this film attempts to glorify living with a drunk who needed serious therapy for childhood trauma. I don't care how you slice it the "nice" moments will NEVER make up for the drunk rants, the abuse, either verbal or physical. It all leaves scars and some so deep in the soul that it ruins you for your own happiness. This film goes as far as saying, "it's ok because he was nice sometimes"! That is so incredulous and what is wrong with America today.... we gloss over the parts we don't want to look at and we hold up the shinny part of the apple for everyone to see while the dark side rots away in our hands. Spreading it's mold to every other apple around it until the whole fruit bowl is a quagmire or den of debauchery with politicians running amuck and grabbing people wherever they please and others looking on and saying, "well, I never saw him do anything wrong"! WAKE UP, IT'S ALL WRONG! And I am sickened by it!

I read this book when I was in high school. My family had a lot of similar qualities and this book helped me feel not so alone. Like Jeanette, I carved my path to success through resilience. Sometimes I used my family's situation as a way to motivate me to stay on my path to success. As I grew older and distanced myself more and more from my family, I couldnt help but to also give credit to their own beauty and their unconditional love despite the harm it did sometimes. I dont glorify it, but I pay respect and gratitude to the true reality; the good and the bad, as i move on. This movie makes you feel the raw emotions of the situation... emotions without judgement. Beautifully done. Must watch.