"Winter's Bone" Movie Review
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Winter's Bone
I saw Winter's Bone tonight which is the best movie I've seen in a while. It was so real that it seemed almost like a documentary of life in the Missouri Ozarks in the 1930s. The characters and setting reminded me of the depression photography of Walker Evans and Dorthea Lange.
The heroine of the story is Ree Dolly, a courageous 17-year-old girl played with an award-winning performance by Jennifer Lawrence.
The movie covers several days during which Ree faces a crisis caused by her father's disappearance after posting the family home and farm as bail bond for his trial for cooking meth in a lab in the Missouri back woods. Ree cares for her two young sibilings and her mother who is depressed to the point of being non-functional. The family home and farm will be lost if her father doesn't show up for his trial. The plot revolves around Ree's search to find her father to make sure he shows up for the trial so that the farm won't be sold for the defaulted bail bond. Her search begins with her father's cocaine-addicted brother and ends up with various ruthless relatives and other members of Ozarks drug clan associates of her father who are not willing to help her.
The characters seemed so real that I wonder how the cast was recruited, that is, whether they were played by actors or by real people from the Missouri Ozarks. And all the scenes were definitely shot on location, not on a Hollywood set. The script was written and directed by Debra Granik. It was based on a book by Daniel Woodrell. Several reviewers compared the movie to Frozen River, the prize winning independent movie released two years ago. It's also worthy of comparison of the almost Biblical French movies Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring. Like them Winter's Bone was not easy to watch.
Note: The movie may sound like a "downer," but I didn't react to it that way. It's an uplifting movie because of Ree Dolly's guts and determination not to give up on doing whatever it took to find her father and save the family farm. She is quite an admirable character, in my opinion, well portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence.
Winter's Bone Gets Four Oscar Nominations
- \'Dream come true\' as locally made \'Winter\'s Bone\' garners Oscar nods | Springfield News-Leader
The Oscar nominations include John Hawkes for Actor in a Supporting role; Jennifer Lawrence for Actress in a leading role; Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin for Best Picture; and Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini for Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Winter's Bone Nominated for Best Picture and Jennifer Lawrence for Best Actress
- Oscars 2011 Nominations List: Academy Awards Nominees
Also nominated for best picture Tuesday was the Ozarks crime thriller "Winter's Bone." Other best-actress nominees is Jennifer Lawrence as a teen trying to find her missing father amid the Ozark Mountains' criminal underbelly in "Winter's Bone."
Debra Granik Wikibio
- Debra Granik - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Debra Granik (born 1963) is an American independent filmmaker. She's won a series of awards at the Sundance film festival, including Best Short in 1998 for Snake Feed (her first film) and the the Grand Jury Prize for Drama in 2010 for Winter's Bone.
Jennifer Lawrence Wikibio
- Jennifer Lawrence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lawrence has the lead role in Winter's Bone (Sundance in 2010) as a 17-year-old girl in the rural Ozarks caring for her mentally-ill mother and her younger brother and sister when she discovers that her father posted the family farm as bail bond.
John Hawkes Wikibio
- John Hawkes (actor) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ohn Hawkes (born 1959) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his portrayal of Bugsy in The Perfect Storm and as the Jewish merchant Sol Star on the HBO series Deadwood. the role of Greg Penticoff in season 1 of 24.
Another HubReview of "Winter's Bone" by JBunce
- Fresh Reviews: "Winter's Bone"
Rated R for violence and strong language. * * * * * * * * * * Once in a while you actually do run into a movie that has characters you haven't seen in dozens of other movies in the past year alone. One...
Dortheal Lange Images
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Cannot wait to see
Really cool. Thumbs up.
I enjoyed your review, but the movie sounds really depressing. "Mystic River" was well crafted and acted, many say a "masterpiece" but is was SOOO depressing!
Tnx for the comments. Actually, the movie was not depressing in the same way Mystic River was. The Ree character was in many ways uplifting in her courage and determination to find her father and save the family homestead.
I'm not sure I would have heard of it, if not for your review. I will check it out. Coincidentally, my family and I are moving to the foothills of the Missouri Ozarks in about two months.
It sounds like a good movie to go see. Great review.
Thanks for the great review. I am looking forward to seeing it.
Tnx, all, for the comments. PrettyPanther, you should definitely see the movie although it might change your mind about moving to the Missouri Ozarks although the countryside there is beautiful.
Excellent review of this taut thriller. I thought John Hawkes was terrific as the dangerous uncle...
For all the emphasis on naturalism, the world depicted here seems too cut off from the rest of America to feel totally authentic. That’s brought home in a brilliant scene when Ree tries to enlist with a wise military recruiter — is this the only contact with the greater world (other than a small-town police officer) that she has? Her total backwoods isolation doesn’t quite ring true for our modern times...Larry
I never heard of this movie before and will have to check it out.
TNX. Maven's comment is right on. Ree's encounter with the Army recruiter stood out from the rest of the movie. The recruiter was one of the "nicer" people she encountered.
Sounds like an interesting movie. Thanks for this review.
I had just come here to let you know I've just added a link to your "Winter's Bone" review on the page for mine, and I see you've already added one to my review... for which, my thanks. I'm glad to see that you also mentioned "Frozen River"... I'd like to imagine that at least a few curious fans who are impressed by "Winter's Bone" might check out "Frozen River", too. And just a note to mention that after taking a look at some of your political pieces it looks like we might agree on more than a few things. I'll be checking them out more in the future.
You have presented a great 'Movie Review'. Thanks.
Thanks for your comments! It's a serious movie, quite well done. Not Hollywood or Bollywood.
This was a great movie. Also, I believe the children that played Ree's younger siblings were actually real Ozarks dwellers, not actors.
"Winter's Bone" book review
- Review of Winter's Bone
In the Ozarks a young woman searches for her meth-cook father who has put up their house for his bail bond only to disappear.Ree Dollys life is one of rural poverty and intense responsibility as she...
sabu singh 22 months ago
Excellent and thrilling trailer Ralph. Thank you for telling me about this movie of which I was unaware. Must see.