Joy: while David O. Russell is telling a story that seems a collection of tired tropes (with one notable exception: a strong female protagonist), at least he is telling it in a different manner. However, the film moves like a lucid, half-awaken dream, which is not very appealing; the meat of the story comes too late to salvage interest. The web of character relationships seems too absurd and not at all engaging. The cast is an interesting one, but only Jennifer Lawrence is given a character we are supposed to care about; she is magnetic, most of the time (even if she looks too young for the part).