Joblo | ‘Joy’ Review

Joblo

All this said, Russell’s clearly tried to make something other than the usual Hollywood biopic and by embracing the soapy aspects of it and emphasizing the artificial he’s made a unique film. However, it’s also a manic one and a tough thing to invest in emotionally, which is a shame as Mangano’s story is excellent. While JOY is nonetheless entertaining, it feels like an exercise in style over substance and for all Russell’s effort to give this a Scorsese-like epic feel, it lacks the intimacy of Scorsese’s own Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (in a nie nod to that film, Diane Ladd gets a nice supporting part). Obviously though, this is just one critic’s opinion and it’s possible X-Mas audiences will love O.Russell’s approach, but while it worked in American Hustle, given how strange the actual caper was they were covering, this approach does not lend itself to a more intimate story.