Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating *
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Édgar Ramírez, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, Isabella Rossellini, Dascha Polanco, Elisabeth Röhm, Susan Lucci, Laura Wright, Maurice Bernard, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Ken Howard, Ray De La Paz.
Everybody has an idea; everybody has something to offer the world and should never be discouraged from attempting to bring it to fruition, to at least say they tried without having it rammed down their throat when the project goes wrong. The trouble is when money gets involved or when the scheme goes well, everybody wants a piece of the action and rather than congratulating the person, the bitter pangs of jealousy rear their head. Everybody has an idea, however the committee that thought Joy would make a great film seriously needs to look deep into their heart and ask themselves why they allowed it make it to the screen.
For almost all of the film it won’t escape the cinema-goers attention that what they are watching is not an inspiring look back about a woman’s life, a strong, vibrant and intelligent woman, let down by social demands and some of her jealous family, but instead a piece arguably of propaganda, a money making exercise in salute to the art of making money.
Advertising has always found a way into the mind sets of the public, it feeds on the insecurity and desire, of the need and the greed, of want and the must have. Whilst in some cases advertising is helpful, when it starts to go beyond the crass product placement that it has crept into some of the more big budget experiences and instead goes all out to feel like the main purpose, then it’s time to look hard at some of the films on release and way judgement on whether it is a motion picture or an attempt to lure you in to a shopping spree.
It is only in the last segment of the lengthy advert where a modicum of respectability is gained and the true portion of human nature comes across. The ability to rise above those who will tear you down for believing in yourself, your work, your drive is paramount after all. For whilst there is hope that you might be able to change the world in small way, that something you do will be regarded as a life changing experience or even inspire the next person to be better than they think they are, then the point of existence has not been abandoned or lost.
Joy is a film in which nobody comes out truly clean, nobody really excels as they all act as if the culmination of the time spent in front of camera is the result of selling their soul to the shopping channels and executives, a sad and cheerless film in which the poignancy of the stranglehold of commerce, corporate theft and brutal family support is not lost in translation.
Ian D. Hall