Winter's Bone - Movie Review

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Based on the Daniel Woodrell novel, this film is a riveting exploration of old-society notions of responsibility and obligation, loyalty and betrayal. It deserves the awards it's swept up so far, and more are surely to come.

After her drug-cooking dad jumps bail, 17-year-old Ree (Lawrence) is in an impossible situation: she's desperate to get out of town, but the bondsman (Taylor) is seizing her house, and she's has to take care of her nearly catatonic mother (Richards) and younger siblings (Stone and Thompson) who aren't old enough to hunt their own food. So she decides to find her father, calling on her uncle (Hawkes) for help. But her dad's disappearance is tied up in local customs, and by digging around she stirs a hornet's nest.

The filmmakers capture life in the wintry Missouri Ozarks with remarkable skill, never giving in to cliches in the way the community is portrayed. And even the plot unfolds organically, without any cinematic manipulation. Within moments, we feel like we are right in the middle of this situation, and we cling to Ree for dear life, hoping she makes it out of this alive. Most impressively, Granik builds this anxiety even though we're not initially sure what the threat is. Every scene is packed with subtle detail that draws us in deeper.

Lawrence delivers an Oscar-calibre performance that doesn't have a single forced moment, although one climactic scene is so wrenching that we can hardly watch. She gives Ree an understated steeliness that really takes us aback, especially as she walks into increasingly dodgy situations; whether its bravado or desperation is irrelevant when the character is this complex and sympathetic. And the supporting cast members hardly seem like they're acting at all, bristling with a whole range of barely suppressed emotions.

This is a powerful film about a tightly interconnected community in which people understand their place, everyone knows everyone else's business, and help is offered but never requested. Granik's cameras observe this with quiet intensity that's rooted in the characters themselves. It's reminiscent of other independent-woman dramas like Frozen River and Trucker, but this one has more soul than any of them.

Facts and Figures

Year: 2010

Genre: Dramas

Run time: 100 mins

In Theaters: Friday 17th September 2010

Box Office USA: $6.5M

Box Office Worldwide: $13.8M

Budget: $2M

Distributed by: Roadside Attractions

Production compaines: Anonymous Content, Winter's Bone Productions

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 4.5 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Fresh: 152 Rotten: 9

IMDB: 7.2 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director: Debra Granik

Producer: Alix Madigan, Anne Rosellini

Screenwriter: Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence as Ree Dolly, John Hawkes as Teardrop, Kevin Breznahan as Little Arthur, Dale Dickey as Merab, Garret Dillahunt as Sheriff Baskin, Sheryl Lee as April, Shelley Waggener as Sonya, Isaiah Stone as Sonny, Ashlee Thompson as Ashlee, Valerie Richards as Connie, Lauren Sweetser as Gail, Cinnamon Schultz as Victoria, Casey MacLaren as Megan, Tate Taylor as Satterfield, Ronnie Hall as Thump Milton (as Ron 'Stray Dog' Hall), Cody Brown as Floyd, William White as Blond Milton, Beth Domann as Alice, Charlotte Jeane Lucas as Tilly, Ramona Blair as Parenting Teacher, Russell Schalk as Army Recruiter (as Sgt. Russel A. Schalk), Marideth Sisco as Singer at Party