American Hustle may not have gleaned all of the 170 Oscars it was initially tipped for but there was still undeniable Oscars alchemy in the teaming of David O. Russell, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper, a quartet reunited for Joy. Russell is a past master of creating environments for classy casts to express themselves, and if this new trailer is any indication, Joy is another one. Click on the YouTube to take a look.
Lawrence takes the lead in another period drama that’s again inspired partly by real-life. Instead of the Abscam stings of the late ‘70s, this one is set against a smaller tableau of a young woman (Lawrence’s Joy Mangano) finding fame and fortune with an invention known as the Miracle Mop. Fame and fortune brings infamy and misfortune in their wake, though. The mum of three finds herself a magnet for toxic interests and criminal enterprises. A flakey husband (Edgar Ramirez, seen incurring the substantial disapproval of Joy’s dad, played by De Niro, in the trailer) doesn’t help matters. Soon she’s single and striving alone.
“[It’s] a fable that lives somewhere between Citizen Kane, The Godfather and It's a Wonderful Life,” says Russell of the themes at play in his film. "I would say it lives in the middle of that territory of the loss of your soul.”
Joy looks more like a star vehicle than American Hustle-style ensemble piece – who’d bet against an astonishing fourth Academy Award nomination for Lawrence? - although the cast runs long and deep. Alongside Lawrence, Cooper (the entrepreneur who shakes Joy’s life, and business up), De Niro and Ramirez are Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd and Virginia Madsen.
Joy opens in the US on Christmas Day and the UK on January 1.