Movie Review: The Glass Castle and the Impact of Poverty

This report provides a critical review of the film "The Glass Castle," based on Jeannette Walls' memoir. The review delves into the movie's portrayal of poverty, family dysfunction, and social inequality. It examines how the unconventional upbringing of Walls and her siblings, marked by their parents' struggles, shaped their lives. The analysis highlights the detrimental effects of poverty, including the insecurities it creates and the societal obstacles faced by the Walls family. The review also explores the complexities of the characters, particularly the father, Rex Walls, portraying both his flaws and moments of humanity. Furthermore, the report touches upon themes of sacrifice, resilience, and the yearning for a better life, as seen through the family's relocations and the children's efforts to escape their circumstances. The movie's depiction of the family's journey, from their struggles in various mining towns to their eventual resettlement in New York, serves as a powerful commentary on the lasting impact of poverty and the importance of social position. The review concludes by emphasizing the sacrifices made by the siblings and their eventual triumph over adversity.

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Movie Review
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MOVIE REVIEW
The Glass Castle is the name of a drama film and the director of the film was Destin
Daniel Cretton. It was based on the memoir of Jeanette Walls and it portrays the childhood of
walls that was steeped in poverty (Walls, 2017). The movie talks about the unconventional
upbringing of Walls along with her siblings who had to grow up amidst dysfunctional
parents. This review argues that poverty acts as a deterrent factor for an individual in the
society that makes him face a lot of obstacles in life.
The movie shows how Jeanette had pent-up insecurities pertaining to her troubled
past. The appearance of Rose Mary by the dumpster shows that the past life of homelessness
along with poverty would continue to bother her throughout her life. She had to always suffer
from the fear that her past was a blot in her life and the people in the society would look
down upon them for their poor circumstances in life. A person who has to go through the
dumpsters for searching for food and eating maggot-infested meat was rebuked by the upper
echelons of the society.
The movie talks about the family of Jeanette Walls who were suffering from poverty
that made them suffer a lot of challenges. The family had to move round the country often
and they were always trying to resettle. The family was living in different mining towns that
was situated on West Coast of that of America. The movie has depicted the father of Jeanette
Rex Walls in a very convincing manner who used to narrate fantastical stories for explaining
realities to the children (Hurst, Gibbon & Nurse, 2016). He is shown in the movie as reeking
in alcohol that speaks of the injustice that Jeanette Walls had to face in life. The movie on the
other hand portrays the humane side of Rex when she gave a gift of the amount of $ 950 for
the tuition of Jeanette. This part of the movie helps in bringing to light the fact that a person
who seems cruel and irresponsible outwardly can also have a humane side. The movie has
been successful in showing the good and the bad side of Jeanette’s father Rex.

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The movie speaks about the injustice that are perpetrated by the parents on their sons
and daughters and how they want to impose their opinions on their children. The movie
brings to light the relationship of Jeanette with that of her fiancé who was wealthy and how
her father could not accept the fact that she was involved in a relationship with financial
analyst. The father thought that the job was symbolic of corruption that existed within
capitalist system (Beddoe & Keddell, 2016). The scene in the movie where Rex and that of
David gets involved in arms wrestle speaks about the conflict in relation to the beliefs of the
two people. The movie shows the tension between the father and the fiancé of Jeanette that
created complication in her life.
The movie shows how poverty can cause an individual to face the worst of situations
in life. In the event of the family of Walls moving away to Welch which had a winter season
that family had to face great amount of struggle. The family of Walls wanted to return to the
desert after they arrived in Welch in West Virginia. The movie has beautifully depicted how
the family had to face one bad circumstance after another that created upheavel in their lives
and tore their lives apart. The movie has shown how adverse situations force an individual to
escape from their real world and take refuge in a different world that can offer them with
comfort (Walls, 2017).The movie shows Lori along with Jeanette setting their sight on New
York and they start saving money so that they can go out of Welch.
The movie shows how the people living in the society have to suffer because of the
misery put on them by the harshness of life. The family of Walls relocated to New York so
that they could be liberated from the stifling environment that existed at Welch. Everyone
was living in an independent manner at till Rex along with Rose Mary showed up within
Manhattan. The movie shows how the couple ended up being poor inspite of the efforts made
by them. The children could not take the burden of hosting the parents (Beddoe & Keddell,
2016). The movie brings to light the idea that the people in the society who were deprived of

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a stable income had to endure many misfortunes. The movie eventually shows Rose Mary
along with Rex ending up becoming squatters in the abandoned apartments. The sad plight of
Walls family has been portrayed by showing Rex dying of heart attack.
The movie portrays how a proper social position can embolden an individual and it
can people in realizing their aims in life. The movie shows how sacrifices made by an
individual can act to their benefit in the long run. The ending of the movie shows Jeanette
along with Lori taking control of the household. They emerge to become head of the
household and they rescue other siblings from the undesirable condition existing in Welch.
The movie shows how they were able to escape from the parents with the help of their hard
work and determination (Hurst, Gibbon & Nurse, 2016). Jeanette along with Lori stayed up
till the early morning so that they can make posters and it shows the immense amount of
sacrifice that they had to make for creating proper position in the society.
The movie also highlights how an individual yearns for something that is bygone and
cannot get back in life. This has been revealed in the movie with the help of characterization
of Maureen who did not remember the life outside that of Welch. She keeps on asking about
the life in desert and in California as she could not remember about these places. Maureen
thought that her life was devoid of any kind of adventure along with excitement. The movie
has depicted successfully the pain that Jeanette had to go through as she felt that they should
have stood beside the mother (Powers, 2018).
The movie has aptly portrayed the deep impression that insecurities created in the life
of Jeanette. Rose Mary has been symbolically shown beside the dumpster that reveals the
element of homelessness in her life. Family of Jeanette had to go around the city and they
wanted to resettle in a particular place. The movie shows the family living in various mining
towns on the West Coast of America. The father of Jeanette has been shown in a very

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realistic manner as both the good and the bad traits in his personality has been shown in the
movie. The movie has rightly pointed out how poverty can have a deep effect on the life an
individual. The movie has shown how a distinct social position can lend dignity to the life of
an individual.

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References:
Beddoe, L., & Keddell, E. (2016). Informed outrage: tackling shame and stigma in poverty
education in social work. Ethics and Social Welfare, 10(2), 149-162.
Hurst, C. E., Gibbon, H. M. F., & Nurse, A. M. (2016). Social inequality: Forms, causes, and
consequences. Routledge.
Powers, S. P. (2018). Hollywood's America: Social and political themes in motion pictures.
Routledge.
Walls, J. (2017). The glass castle: A memoir. Simon and Schuster.