Winter's Bone

You will be chilled to the bone watching this Sundance winner. I saw it at a preview many months ago but remember the emotion I felt while watching.

The cinematography is superb. The locale is the backwoods in hillbilly Missouri. Probably no one you know has been in this territory and the film makes you feel as if you are right in the middle of all the action.

The acting is superb. The young actress Jennifer Lawrence who plays the part of 17 year old Ree is a star beyond belief. There are several issues as a central theme and you will want to discuss them for hours following this film.

Ree is a 17 year old girl with a lot of responsibility. She lives in a shack in the woods with her 2 siblings and depressed mother. She always has a sullen look about her and no wonder. I can almost smell her musky unwashed clothes. I can also feel the love and care she has for her family. The father is a distiller of meth. He is on the run from a charge for distilling the drug and has posted the shack as bond for his trial. The family is threatened with losing what little they possess.

Ree is determined to find her father. She has such a load to bear and yet is so determined.

Her kin are frightening people living in the area. The uncle totes a big gun and has nothing to do with her. The women support their men and are threatening to Ree in many ways. There are several very unsettling scenes.

This is a film of survival. In an area where the men reign supreme it was wonderful to see the emergence of Ree as a strong female character.

This is a story of drugs, loyalty and family feuds. The poor living conditions are so clearly portrayed. I have never been to the Ozarks but after the film I felt as if I had been there. I didn’t like the place but learned a great deal from the experience.

This is definitely an award winning film. I am impressed that the director Debra Granik was able to get into this culture in such a believable way. Apparently she is actually from the east coast and claims to be from an upper-middle class family.