Glassland

Such a honest peek into the struggles of loving someone with addiction so deeply that won't get out of their own way. Shows exactly how everyone writes the addict off with pity and avoidance while others swoop in to take advantage of the weak and desperate. Left to the one that loved you the most who's stuck with all the misery that goes with it!

I bought this movie on DVD on Amazon UK a few weeks ago and I have no regrets ! It's a small but pretty impressive indie from Ireland with top-notch acting. Will Poulter is funny and believably boy-next-door, his accent flawless; Michael Smiley brings hard-won compassion as an alcohol counselor and the always magnificent Toni Collette gives once again a splendid performance. But this is Reynor's film and he holds the screen like a pro – always thinking, tapping, twitching with silent fury. John's a good guy but he looks like he wants to kill someone. That no such eruptions occur makes Glassland's power all the more remarkable. Well done.A must see.

12/8/17. This was actually a very good portrayal about what alcoholism does to a family. Reynor does a phenomenal job as the young adult son of Toni Collette's alcoholic mother at the verge of dying because of her excesses with drink. This is the first time I have seen such a sensitive portrayal about a son who is torn apart by having to be a caretaker of a parent with a severe substance abuse disorder. You can feel his pain as he dutifully does all he can to try and save his mother from herself. While totally depressing, this movie is worth watching to remind us that when people have a substance use disorder, they are not the only one in pain, it affects EVERYONE around them. Also, a good portrayal of those who provide services to these people and their families.

Here is an engaging, well-told story about addiction and the relationship between mother and son. Sounds melodramatic, and in aspects it could be, but it never feels like such a film. The whole thing is fully realized, very well-written, with a clear, true eye for the characters and who they are. The two leads are fantastic, especially Jack Reynor who I was previously impressed by in What Richard Did. He's a true leading actor, and he has proved to have the talent to really dive into raw, strong material. The film would be worth it just for him, but all of the actors are committed. This is definitely very recommended for all filmgoers.

Review: Although this movie is about a deep subject matter, I still found it quite boring and depressing. The whole tone didn't seem to change from the beginning to end and I didn't really get the moral of the story. Anyway, the film is about a young cab driver called John (Jack Reynor), who looks after his mother, Jean (Toni Collette) who is slowly killing herself with alcohol. One day he comes home from work to find her passed out in bed, so he quickly rushes her to the hospital so they can revive her. The doctors tell him that she is really pushes her addiction to drink, to the limit and that she really needs to get help so he decides to put her in a rehabilitation centre so she can get clean. His best friend, Shane (Will Poulter) decides to leave Dublin but John can't go with him because he looks after his disabled brother, who the mother has disowned, and he's worried about his mum's health. He then gets told that his mother can only stay in the centre for a little while but there is an opening at another home which costs quite a bit of money, so he has to take on a people trafficking job to pay for her stay. After his friend leaves, he's left all on his own to try and pull his family together, with no support from anyone. It's quite an emotional movie with some good acting, especially from Toni Collette but I was left feeling quite depressed. There isn't any major twisted or surprising changes to the storyline but you can't help feeling for poor John who just wants the best for everyone. The emotional scene at the airport, when Shane leaves, shows that John really did want to leave to better his life but he has a good heart and his family come first. Anyway, you do have to be in the right mood to watch this deep drama because it definitely isn't upbeat. Average!

Round-Up: Jack Reynor, 23, must have thought that he had won the lottery when he got a role in the lead alongside Mark Wahlberg in Transformers: Age of Extinction but the movie received mixed reviews and it got panned by a lot of the critics. I personally didn't think it was that bad. He also starred in Vince Vaughn's Delivery Man and he stars in the upcoming Macbeth with Michael Fassbender so this small budget movie definitely hasn't damaged his reputation. The film was written and directed by Gerard Barrett who brought you the highly acclaimed Pilgrim Hill, which I personally haven't seen but at 28 years old, I can honestly say that he didn't do to bad job for his 2nd project. I think that he should have given the storyline a bit more substance, from a entertainment point of view but he put together an emotional movie which some people will be able to relate to. All of the cast was a perfect choice for the subject matter but I did find myself drifting off after a while.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their emotional dramas about a young teenager having to look after his alcoholic mother. 3/10