We weren’t over-the-moon enthusiastic about David O. Russell‘s Joy, which is hardly any reason to veer away from a chat between the helmer and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner. (And, of course, you might end up liking the movie, wide-reaching tastemakers though we may be.) The pair were joined for a DGA post-screening Q & A, an environment that, as we recently saw with Bridge of Spies, makes room for rapport between friends — one where movie talk does come in, and yet one often closer to eavesdropping than a studio-sponsored event. The part where Russell and Weiner act a bit prick-ish to an audience member while discussing the virtues of being nice is a good idea of what to expect.
Said we in our review, “This, an adaptation of Joy Mangano’s life story, is a mostly linear tale, but one that’s pared down to the most essential (and inessential) parts. And while it’s easy to criticize Joy for not delivering the grandiose, interweaving journey that might be expected from its pedigree, to say so is to overlook the ways that the film uses cinematic and, indeed, anti-cinematic qualities to say things — not only about the modern American Dream, but, more crucially, the varying scale of difficulty for different people to succeed.”
Below, see it for yourself (via The Playlist):
Joy will open on December 25.