As seen in the recently released The Glass Castle trailer, Brie Larson will star in the upcoming film as a woman struggling to reconcile her successful (but unhappy) life with her ramshackle (but joyful) upbringing and to repair her relationship with her estranged parents, played by fellow Oscar nominees Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts. But the film will also tell a true story about a very real — and very compelling — woman: Jeannette Walls, who penned the 2005 memoir of the same name from which The Glass Castle is adapted.
Her book tells the fascinating story of her unconventional childhood, in which she and her siblings led an impoverished and itinerant life under the guidance of their free-spirited parents, before moving to New York and creating a new life for herself. But even that new life was threatened when she learned that her parents had followed her to the Big Apple and started squatting in a vacant building nearby.
It's always a tricky matter when adapting the life of a subject who's still living, but Walls seems pleased with The Glass Castle, giving the film her personal stamp of approval. "They did a spectacular job bringing to life a complicated story, there’s so many nuances," the author told People in a recent interview. She has only praise for the actor who's portraying her younger self, saying of the Oscar winner that, "I wanted Brie Larson to play this role even before I knew who she was. She understands how to be strong and vulnerable at the same time, how you can fight and be scared at the same time."
For her part, Walls feels hopeful that seeing her life played out on the big screen will inspire other people to reconcile with their own troubled pasts.
"I hope that in seeing my story, it makes people think about what they've been through," she told People. "I think that's the magic of storytelling — if one person is willing to be brave and tell their story, then that allows other people to be honest. I think there's incredible value in coming to terms with your story, and I hope that the telling of my story will encourage other people to revisit their own."
Judging by the painful honesty of her performance as Ma in Room, if there's anyone in Hollywood qualified to truthfully tell the story of a complicated woman, it's Larson. Walls should rest easy knowing her legacy is in good hands.
