I honestly do not understand the harsh reviews, I watched this movie with low expectations because of what I'd read before going into it but I thought it was fantastic! I don't doubt this will get Amy Adams or Glenn Close a nomination for film awards, at the very least. This movie is definitely emotional and the performances will linger with you after you finish because it is vulnerability and it is weakness, and redemption, and perseverance, and helplessness all at once. Amy Adams is this whirlwind of drama that proves hostile to her family while she struggles with her drug addictions, her son having to cope with the lack of both parental figures with only his grandmother to be his guide and savior throughout his childhood. This movie really kind of gave a window into what addiction does to a person who neither can afford help, or is looking for it, and how complicated life can become. There were so many moments throughout the movie that could have forced Amy Adams' character to confront herself by letting her reap the consequences of her recklessness. But her family behaved like this cushion or a doormat, or a crutch for her misdeeds and drug addictions and the badness would become a cycle, a trend almost, an expected high with a certain inevitable low.
There is one particular moment that really got to me, and it was the scene where Glenn Close (Mamaw) is begging a meals on wheels worker to give her more food because she is now taking care of her grandson; a meal for one is split for two and she doesn't think twice about giving her grandson the larger portion of the meal. This just really got to me because although this young man's life was nowhere near perfect, he had someone in his life who pushed him to go further and to try harder and this scene and what happens afterward is probably my favorite thing about this movie.
There is one particular moment that really got to me, and it was the scene where Glenn Close (Mamaw) is begging a meals on wheels worker to give her more food because she is now taking care of her grandson; a meal for one is split for two and she doesn't think twice about giving her grandson the larger portion of the meal. This just really got to me because although this young man's life was nowhere near perfect, he had someone in his life who pushed him to go further and to try harder and this scene and what happens afterward is probably my favorite thing about this movie.