In 2016, Jennifer Lawrence, one of the most successful actresses of our time, was re-nominated for an Oscar. Thus, critics noted her work in the movie "Joy." Actors Robert de Niro and Bradley Cooper, in turn, made up Miss Lawrence company on the set of this biographical tape. What is the picture "Joy" about? And what kind of reaction did she evoke in the audience?
The creators of the picture
The director of the sensational project was David O. Russell. He took part in writing the script for the film "Joy."
The actors selected for the main roles, perhaps, did not surprise anyone: O. Russell already collected the star three of Laurence de Niro - Cooper in his two previous films (we are talking about the comedy "My Boyfriend is Crazy" and the tragicomedy "Scam American Style" )
As for the script of the “Joy” tape, at first glance it seems that it was written on the basis of real events that took place in the life of American Joy Mangano. But those who are really familiar with the story of a successful entrepreneur, found in the picture a lot of inconsistencies with the real biography of Mangano.
The picture "Joy" never took a single Oscar. But Jennifer Lawrence managed to try herself in a new role.
Short story
In the film "Joy", the actors tried to tell the viewer the story of a woman who for many years hid her inventive gift, but in the end he burst out and brought her incredible success.
Joy is the main character, a resident of a provincial city. Everything in her life is boring and gray: unsuccessful early marriage, three children on her shoulders, and even her parents in addition. The heroine Jennifer Lawrence no longer counts on anything. She simply “pulls the strap” on a tedious and low-paying job to at least somehow stay afloat.
Once Joy reaches a certain point, the cup of her patience is full. She decides to change everything. A large single mother invents a number of unique items that are extremely useful in everyday life. So Joy Mangano becomes the founder of an entire business dynasty and radically changes his future destiny.
The film "Joy", 2015 ("Joy"): actors and roles. Jennifer Lawrence and her heroine
Jennifer Lawrence became famous thanks to the Teen Hunger Games franchise. By signing a highly successful contract in 2012, Lawrence played Katniss Everdeen for four years. However, she constantly wanted creative experiments and new images. Therefore, she did not fail to star in the very controversial comedy "My Boyfriend is Crazy", while playing a girl suffering from mental illness. And then Lawrence got the main role in the biographical drama "Joy."
Actors in the project got good. At least in Hollywood, they have long been in good standing. The actress herself was glad that she again had the opportunity to go beyond and try something extraordinary: single mothers Jennifer Lawrence had not played yet.
The story of a strong woman who managed to build her life without the help of a family, without the help of influential men, inspired the Hollywood star to work fruitfully. Lawrence even read the second Oscar, but at the 2016 ceremony, the actress was overtaken by Bree Larson.
Robert de Niro as Father Joy
Robert de Niro began his film career back in 1965 and has not slowed down since then. In the arsenal of the actor are two Oscars and a myriad of successful paintings.
De Niro collaborated with almost every iconic Hollywood director - Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola,
Sergio Leone, Brian De Palma, Quentin Tarantino, Bari Levinson, Robert Rodriguez, Luke Besson and others.
Despite the fact that during his career de Niro was nominated about 100 times for various prestigious awards, he remains a rather unpretentious performer: the actor easily agrees to roles that can hardly be called the main ones. The film “Joy” was no exception.
Actors Robert de Niro and Virginia Madsen appeared on the screens in the image of Joy's parents. The main character of the picture did not develop relations with relatives as smoothly as she would like. But in an interview with Jennifer Lawrence, she noticed that if not for the difficulties within the family, Joy would not have become such a strong woman.
Bradley Cooper as Director of Home Shopping Network
The biographical drama "Joy", whose actors and roles caused remarkable controversy among critics, has become another project for the promising Hollywood actor Bradley Cooper.
Cooper began his career at the Dream Factory quite modestly: in the 99th he played the boyfriend
Kerry Bradshaw in the series Sex and the City, a little later the actor was noted in the series Law and Order: Special Corps.
Cooper became truly famous after filming in the fantastic action movie "Areas of Darkness." This was the first joint project with Robert de Niro. Then the performers met on the set three times (“My Boyfriend Is Crazy”, “American Scam”, “Joy”).
In the film “Joy,” Cooper got the role of director of the Home Shopping Network, with whom the main character had a contract. Naturally, over time, the business relationship of Neil Walker and Joy turned into a personal one.
Other role performers
The film "Joy", the actors whose roles were widely discussed after the premiere, was won only by the Golden Globe among all possible awards (received by Jennifer Lawrence). Lawrence, de Niro and Cooper are perhaps the only known names that can be seen in the credits of the picture. The remaining performers only create the background.
For example, Edgar Ramirez got the role of the ex-husband of Joy - the unsuccessful singer Tony Miranna. Ramirez is a Venezuelan actor, but from time to time he gets characters in Hollywood projects (Domino, Bourne Ultimatum).
The role of stepsister Joy was received by television actress Elizabeth Rohm. Elizabeth can also be seen in the series Law and Order and Stalker.
Interesting Facts
Director David O. Russell prefers to work with the same actors. Trio de Niro - Cooper - Lawrence he shot in his films three times.
Joy Mangano is a real character. This woman really was a low-income single mother for a long time, and then managed to build a successful business. At the time of the release of the film, Joy patented over 100 inventions.
Mangano took her first steps in business in 1990, just when Jennifer Lawrence was born.
On the set of "Joy" Lawrence and Cooper played lovers for the fourth time. Prior to that, they played similar roles in 3 films.
Reviews for the movie Joy: Criticism
In the US, there are many sites that calculate the rating of the film, based on the ratings put to it by professional critics. So, by these standards, “Joy” cannot be called a universally recognized masterpiece: on Rotten Tomatoes the percentage of positive reviews is only 60%, on other sites - even less.
Basically, claims are presented not to the actors' play, but to the director's work. The general opinion of critics came down to the fact that David O. Russell was not able to voice some complete thought with the help of the picture. Rather, his work is similar to a sketch for the film, which was still worth working on.
Viewers reviews
The actors and roles of the film "Joy" have caused mixed reactions not only among critics. The audience also could not agree on a common opinion and decide whether they like the film or not.
On the one hand, the story of Miss Mangano is inspiring. On the other hand, not everyone likes the acting of Lawrence: in particular, the audience laments the actress’s stone face, which practically does not change. The directorial work of O. Russell did not please either. Even avid fans of his films noticed obvious gaps in the plot and illogical development of events. Therefore, there is no single conclusion here; it is better to watch the film yourself and decide whether to leave it in your own collection or not.