What an inspiring flick!

Rating: 8/10 (17 February 2016)

Jennifer Lawrence is a girl with the golden goose. She never fails to deliver. Her portrayals are powerful. Her eyes are so riveting that it is hard not to empathize with the pain she wears. Her demeanour dons a skin that is hard not to relate to and she makes you sway to her rhythm. The natural act she puts on is unmatched.
David O' Russell cashes in on Lawrence just right. To helm Joy as a character so marred by spears of life that she forgets her true talents is what he tries to manifest. Bludgeoning her further are intricacies that end up in a chain reaction and pile her under the boulders of responsibilities. That's where the flick takes off. It is a pleasant perspective taken in a diegetic tone by her grandma Mimi, an optimist with a very kind heart, sadly clouded like any grandmother is. Sidelined and unseen she keeps pointing out the good in her, and occasionally making Joy believe that she was special.
"Maybe your dreams are on a hold right now." The bit about creation was an eye-opener. On behalf of all the creators across the world, I would like to thank Russell to have given it a proper coverage. If we don't look at the reel life for a second and focus on the real, so many of us have dreams that we started up with, a natural flair that promised us silently our true purpose in life, but alas life happened to us and we got skimmed to the footpath, diverged. Russell's take is just brilliant when he focuses on the pointlessness of relations, tangled ways of the living, and the insanity of it all. He subtly delves into the territory of epiphany with Joy's dreams, the only point I felt the flick's balance missing as he tries to blend in melodrama and humour at the same time. The epiphany bit sadly needed more emphasis.
However what unfurls thereon is a constant struggle to prove the mettle, the malice in commerce and the hopelessness that doesn't seem to stop, until it does. It is quite inspiring for people who have put their dreams on hold. There are so many people who point their fingers at you when you are doing something good, succeeding at it, so many near ones who reek of jealousy and try to pull you down, something which Russell captures magnificently.
He uses exceptional screenplay to dignify the fallen talent, and weaves some great words. The rest is picked up by the cast really well. There are bits that shatter you to pieces, despair that boils you up but you can't simply help but marvel at the perseverance of Joy as she fights everything and comes out a victor.
If you wanna feel inspired just go for it!