Once a year, maybe twice if I’m lucky, a film comes along that reinforces my beliefs that film can be great once again. You know before Star Wars came along and screwed up the 70s and made Hollywood realize that movies equal money, and that story was no longer important. That’s a different blog. Last year it was “The Hurt Locker” and this year it’s “Winter’s Bone”, based on the novel of the same name.
Debra Granik’s film opens on three kids in the Missouri Ozarks. We learn from the montage of scenes that the oldest of the three, Ree Dolly, played by Jennifer Lawrence, is the caretaker of the other two. Their mother has for one reason or another lost her mind, and we don’t see dad. So Ree is the one that feeds them, she’s the one that makes sure they do their homework, and quizes them on their way to school. At school we see Ree’s limited life choices: become a mother, or join the army.
One day the sheriff comes to the family home looking for their father who was arrested for cooking meth. He put the house up for his bond, and if he doesn’t show for his court date the house will be taken, the kid’s on the street. So Ree sets out to find her father dead or alive, because without the home she will have no way to raise the kids.
Filmed on location in Missouri, the picture is bleak and cold. The colors are muted and devoid of any warmth, much like the relationship Ree has with her extended family and the community. The homes are dilapidated and littered with garbage.
Ree has somehow managed to wrestle herself free of the life of the community. She has an inner strength that none of them possess. She’s able to look at her surroundings and pull herself away from the drugs, the violence, and the crime in hopes of giving her younger siblings a chance at a real life. A life she wasn’t able to have because she can’t leave them to fend for themselves.
It’s difficult to speak vaguely about such a powerful film, but the last thing I want to do is give anything away. The film is subdued and grounded in reality, while still able to throw in a few movie twists to keep us enthralled. At first the subtle ending turned me off, but as it progressed I realized it was the only way it could have ended. Despite my strongest desire to see the violent retribution acted out on screen, I knew it wasn’t necessary and it wasn’t what Ree would’ve wanted us to see.
I can’t say enough good things about this movie. I think it is definitely the first film I’ve seen this year deserving of a Best Picture nomination, and I feel as if Jennifer Lawrence is guaranteed a statue too. Not to mention John Hawkes and the brilliant character actress Dale Dickey.
But we still have five months…
