by Frank Calvillo
Few actor/director collaborations will ever be remembered for having magnetism, synchronicity, and poetry quite like that of David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence. The two continue to prove themselves so simpatico as collaborators, with each subsequent project bringing forth new levels of their talents as filmmaker and actress, respectively. While their latest effort Joy may not have been the huge money maker studio executives were hoping it would be, it nonetheless stands as a testament to the power of these two individuals.
Written and directed by Russell, Joy is a fictionalized account of Joy Mangano, the inventor of the miracle mop, who went from divorced working mother to one of the top female entrepreneurs in the country. Along the way, the audience witnesses the many up and downs on Joy’s journey towards success, from shady business partners to her oftentimes difficult family headed by her father Rudy (Robert DeNiro).
For all of its flashy side characters, eclectic soundtrack, stunning cinematography, and the elegant way Russell paces his film, it becomes easy to forget that Joy is a tale of pure inspiration. In spite of the many setbacks, and there are quite a few, Joy’s determination only grows stronger as each new stumbling block comes her way. Joy has a lot on her plate. From an agoraphobic mother (Virginia Madsen), to falling deeper and deeper into debt, there are plenty of reasons for the film’s heroine to throw in the towel, even coming extremely close at one point. And yet every ordeal seems to fuel the engine inside Joy’s belly, making her stronger, but never fully doubtful or cynical.
The problems Joy encounters throughout the film are stark and real, despite the fact that they are lensed so beautifully throughout. Midway through Joy’s final act, I wanted to literally cry out, “How much more does she have to take?!” It seemed as if Russell was determined to have Joy suffer every kind of pitfall known to man. It wasn’t until after the film was over that it occurred to me how all of the setbacks in the film worked as a unique comment on the emotion known as joy. By the film’s end, when the main character has achieved everything she set out to and more, she feels satisfied and content. Looking back at all she had to go through made me realize that the film was ultimately about the seemingly endless quest for joy and its immeasurable value.
One of the more unexpected aspects of the film, which could have been incredibly distracting yet thankfully never takes away from the heart of the story, was the sort of surreal quality Russell infused into Joy. Although Joy lives in a grounded world, that world is presented to the audience in such a way that it almost comes off as sort of heightened reality. This is presented in ways both small (such as casting Melissa Rivers to play her mother Joan in a QVC sequence) and large (case in point, the elaborate meeting, courtship, and breakup of Joy’s marriage to husband Tony [Edgar Ramirez]). It’s these touches that make Joy feel wonderfully cinematic and show another side to Russell’s talents as a director who can take the serious and the whimsical and successfully place both side by side.
A role like Joy was made for an actress of Lawrence’s capabilities. The actress gives her all to the part, literally taking to heart every setback and disappointment her character experiences and channeling it into yet another stellar performance. As for the rest of the extended cast, there’s not a weak link in the group, with excellent work from Bradley Cooper as a QVC executive, Diane Ladd as Joy’s grandmother, Elizabeth Rohm as her half-sister, and especially Isabella Rosselini (in what is easily her best performance in years) as her father’s wealthy girlfriend who funds Joy’s enterprise.
When a friend of mine first saw Joy in theaters this past Christmas, she remarked, “Joy was rather joyless,” referencing the various struggles the main character had to endure. Watching the film myself, I can’t help but disagree with this assessment. For me, the film is about the road toward joy, which is never easy. The story may be told through a gorgeous blonde lushly photographed, but the fight is real, as is the will and the hope.
The Package
The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd hosts a roundtable discussion with Lawrence and O’Russell, both of whom offer up some pretty noteworthy insights into the character of Joy and the overall film itself. An otherwise standard making-of is the only other special feature included in the release.
The Lowdown
The many triumphs and obstacles of its determined main character make Joy one of O’Russell’s most compelling and uplifting films.
Joy is now available on Blu-ray from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
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Joy — [4K UHD Blu-ray] | [Blu-ray] | [DVD] | [Instant]
