Joy

The reteaming of writer/director David O Russell with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper brings big expectations, and for much of Joy those expectations are met pretty satisfactorily. There's no doubting Russell's filmmaking abilities — from earlier gems like Flirting With Disaster and I Heart Huckabees through to Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle — and there are his distinctive touches throughout. But Joy just doesn't thrill for its entirety.

The factual story that this is based on is about single mother of two, Joy Mangano (Lawrence), who invented the Miracle Mop. As this is a fictionalised version, there have obviously been liberties taken.

Lawrence as usual is flawless as the woman who overcomes her strange family background and decides she wants something better for her life. Dad, Rudy (Robert De Niro), is a lothario who's left Joy's mum (Virginia Madsen) — a sad woman who watches a TV soap opera in her bedroom all day. Then there's Joy's grandmother, Mimi (Diane Ladd) who's her inspiration to aim higher in life. And so she does, by taking her self-wringing mop to TV shopping channel, QVC, where Cooper's character gives her a chance to go on air and sell it.

Luckily, Rudy's wealthy new girlfriend (Isabella Rossellini) invests in Joy's invention, giving her that much-needed start to what is now a multimillion-dollar business dynasty. It's a truly inspirational story but strangely falls flat in the last half-hour just when it should soar.