Very surprising and different from what I got from the trailers, Joy was very interesting and satisfying to watch.
It was one of those big Oscar-hyped movies that I wasn't looking forward to watch from the trailers because they all looked very boring. The movie started that way too, but after 15 minutes, I was all in.
The characters were built up slowly, and all the actors involved were, once again, great. From the usuals like Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro; to newcomers like Virginia Madsen, Edgar Ramirez and Isabella Rossellini. Even the brief scenes of the black and white TV show with Susan Lucci, director David O. Russell again pulls great performances out of his actors.
The story was co-written by Russell and Annie Mumolo, who also wrote Bridesmaids; and the characters felt so real that this movie could have been a biography about Joy.
There were a few plot points that felt too much like set-ups, and then they were in fact set-ups. Like how the first time the product failed to sell due to lack of preparation, which in turn made it felt unrealistic or forced.
But I enjoyed the story progression and character development of Joy, to see how her spirit persisted when everyone around her were just fools and discouragements. And she believed in herself so much that she made things happen for her.
There's another thing I noticed this time from Russell's direction. Some shots especially the close-ups and trailing shots reminded me of other directors but I can't pinpoint which one yet. Could be Kubrick, Hitchcock or even Scorsese; but I thought it wasn't necessary for what Russell was trying to do here.
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