Released: June 11th, 2010
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Garret Dillahunt, Dale Dickey
Writer/Director: Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini/ Debra Granik
Description: An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact.
[Review may contain spoilers. Please watch movie before reading, unless you don't care. Most of these films have already been released for a while, so they should be readily available.]
***
Prior to heading off to see "The Hunger Games", I thought I'd educate myself on the acting talents of one, Jennifer Lawrence...I'm sorry, Academy Award nominee, Jennifer Lawrence. This is not meant to be read in a mocking tone, Oscar nominees take many forms: great performance in a bad movie, standout performance in a great movie, and an alright performance in a critical darling.
"Winter's Bone" is behind door number 2. If I didn't look it up, I would have assumed that this film was made by Darren Aronofsky. It was as raw and real as "The Wrestler", and it held back no punches. There was no point in the film where co-writer/director Debra Granik took the easy way out. Some could argue the ending was a cop out, but it would have been depressing if they would have lost the house after everything the protagonist went through. When someone fights like that, there needs to be a reward.
An Ozarks mountain girl named, Ree (Lawrence), searches for her father among the meth community of Southern Missouri. Her dad is a well known "cook" among her family of crank users, dealers and cookers. After being arrested, Ree's father puts his house and land up as collateral. If he doesn't show up for court, they lose the house. This sends Ree on a chase to find her father so that she can save her family. Eventually, she finds out that he is dead because he snitched on his family to the sheriff.
Ree's extended family's heirarchy is shown as the male dominated community that it should be. These mountain communities, whether it's in the Deep South or Coal Mine areas of Appalachia, follow a very strict patriarchal lifestyle. So when Ree starts asking questions she is met with criticism and violence. The realistic portrayal of the physical and mental attack levied on Ree and the other women in the community is what makes this movie great and hard to watch at the same time.
The writers and director do not sugarcoat anything. There is no respect for women among the men, which is exhibited early on when, Teardrop (Hawkes), grabs Ree by the throat when she goes to him for help. And it really stands out when they show the beating given to her when she goes to confront the "head" of the family. Most of the time filmmakers are afraid to tell the truth in their films, especially if it's against a cultural norm, even if it means sanitizing the characters and the tone.
Living the life that Ree does, she needs to be steely and tough, but also she needs to be a believable 17-year-old girl. Lawrence goes above and beyond what is required for this character, and very much deserves her nomination. She has the uncanny ability to express the perfect emotion in a situation with out saying a word; something she continues in "The Hunger Games". It's rare that I see an actress never miss with a choice in a scene, and she does it seamlessly. I've been in awe during this double feature, especially since the last time I saw her act, it was on "The Bill Engvall Show", and needless to say, that wasn't must see TV.
"Winter's Bone" is a critical favorite in the independent circuit, which usually peaks my interest, but few deliver on the acclaim like this movie. There is not one major misstep in the whole production, and the tone is perfect. When a film can make the world feel real, and not being filmed in front of dozens of people, it earns the ultimate respect from me: DVD purchase.
In today's world of instant viewings through either Netflix or On-Demand, spending money on physical media is scare, but in recent years I've made it a point to only buy movies if they deserved it. Soon this film will join my last three purchases -- "Inglorious Bastards", "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and "Inception" -- in the category of films I must own on a disc.
Rating: 9/10 -- Best movie so far in the project. Performances are top-notch and the direction is crazy good. Lawrence has officially become one of my top 5 favorite (not hottest or best) current actresses, joining Emma Stone, Helen Mirren, Brittany Robertson and Chloe Moretz. She's going to be huge.
Ree's extended family's heirarchy is shown as the male dominated community that it should be. These mountain communities, whether it's in the Deep South or Coal Mine areas of Appalachia, follow a very strict patriarchal lifestyle. So when Ree starts asking questions she is met with criticism and violence. The realistic portrayal of the physical and mental attack levied on Ree and the other women in the community is what makes this movie great and hard to watch at the same time.
The writers and director do not sugarcoat anything. There is no respect for women among the men, which is exhibited early on when, Teardrop (Hawkes), grabs Ree by the throat when she goes to him for help. And it really stands out when they show the beating given to her when she goes to confront the "head" of the family. Most of the time filmmakers are afraid to tell the truth in their films, especially if it's against a cultural norm, even if it means sanitizing the characters and the tone.
Living the life that Ree does, she needs to be steely and tough, but also she needs to be a believable 17-year-old girl. Lawrence goes above and beyond what is required for this character, and very much deserves her nomination. She has the uncanny ability to express the perfect emotion in a situation with out saying a word; something she continues in "The Hunger Games". It's rare that I see an actress never miss with a choice in a scene, and she does it seamlessly. I've been in awe during this double feature, especially since the last time I saw her act, it was on "The Bill Engvall Show", and needless to say, that wasn't must see TV.
"Winter's Bone" is a critical favorite in the independent circuit, which usually peaks my interest, but few deliver on the acclaim like this movie. There is not one major misstep in the whole production, and the tone is perfect. When a film can make the world feel real, and not being filmed in front of dozens of people, it earns the ultimate respect from me: DVD purchase.
In today's world of instant viewings through either Netflix or On-Demand, spending money on physical media is scare, but in recent years I've made it a point to only buy movies if they deserved it. Soon this film will join my last three purchases -- "Inglorious Bastards", "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and "Inception" -- in the category of films I must own on a disc.
Rating: 9/10 -- Best movie so far in the project. Performances are top-notch and the direction is crazy good. Lawrence has officially become one of my top 5 favorite (not hottest or best) current actresses, joining Emma Stone, Helen Mirren, Brittany Robertson and Chloe Moretz. She's going to be huge.
No comments:
Post a Comment