Based on Jeannette Walls’s 2005 memoir with the same name, the award-season-ready adaptation of her eventful upbringing stars Brie Larson (Room, Kong: Skull Island), Woody Harrelson (No Country for Old Men, Now You See Me) and Naomi Watts (The Impossible, Mullholland Drive).
Via Tackk
Raised in a dysfunctional family, Jeannette grows up under the inadequate care of an eccentric albeit artistic mother (played by Naomi Watts) and an alcoholic father (played by Woody Harrelson) and scrambles for a living with two other siblings. When sober, Rex is the ideal fatherly figure who teaches his kids to embrace their fears. But when he drank, his charisma disappears and his destructive behavior frightens the family. Despite the instability experienced throughout her childhood, Jeannette comes of age and prospers into a successful young woman working in the journalism industry in New York City.
Brie Larson as Jeannette Walls | Via Deadline
The title of the book derives from a promise that the author’s father, Rex Walls, makes throughout her entire childhood. Someday, somehow, he promised to build a glass castle for family members to live in. As he paced around from place to place with blueprints in hand, Jeannette is constantly reminded of this dream that seems so close yet impossible to achieve.
In total, the memoir spent 261 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list. Near the end of 2007, it had already exceeded 2.7 million in sales. Winner of the Christopher Award and the Books for Better Living award, the book has also been translated into 22 languages.
As the movie nears its release, Walls displays an enthusiastic attitude.
“I hope that in seeing my story, it makes people think about what they’ve been through,” she said to People. “I think that’s the magic of storytelling — if one person is willing to be brave and tell their story, then that allows other people to be honest. I think there’s incredible value in coming to terms with your story, and I hope that the telling of my story will encourage other people to revisit their own.”
Released by Lionsgate, the film will be available in theaters from August 11th. You can watch the movie clip of Brie Larson and Woody Harrelson arm wrestling below.
Featured image courtesy of Vulture