Cleaning up

JOY | Jennifer Lawrence takes on a bucket-list role in a movie that could mop up at the Oscars...

Lawrence. Cooper. Russell. De Niro. Yes, the powerhouse team that brought us Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle are back together again. And judging by the Christmas release slot (1 January in the UK), they’re once more looking to make a serious assault on the Academy judges.

A biopic, Joy spans four generations as it tells the story of Joy Mangano (Lawrence), the young single mom to three children who invented the self-wringing ‘Miracle Mop’ and built a family empire. Cooper plays an executive at The Home Shopping Network, De Niro is Joy’s pa, and the high-quality cast is rounded out by the likes of Edgar Ramirez, Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd and Virginia Madsen.

The trailer promises colourful period design, great use of music, anarchic energy, strong women and lots of people looking cool in shades – all Russell trademarks – but the 57-year-old director guarantees a departure: “It’s set in the ’80s and ’90s but I’m taking a different approach,” he says. “I aspire to make an unexpected movie, for myself and Jennifer.” Pushed for details, his lips tighten, though he will say, “This is going to be a very emotional and existential look at a woman’s heart and soul as she becomes powerful.”

The production began in February and was reported to be a stormy affair, with alleged clashes between Russell and Lawrence. J-Law, however, was having none of it, taking to Facebook to post, “David O. Russell is one of my closest friends and we have an amazing collaborative working relationship. I adore this man and he does not deserve this tabloid malarkey. The movie is going great and I’m having a blast!”

Buzz is still, well, buzzing from the final bit of the trailer: Lawrence blasting rounds from a shotgun and spitting, “My name’s Joy, by the way.” JG

ETA | 1 January 2016 Joy opens next year.

‘I aspire to make an unexpected movie...’

David o. Russ ell