Mainstream Hollywood of late seems to have gone down the route of big spectacular action films, broad mass-appeal comedies, sci-fi blockbusters and soulless remakes of older (and better) films. Those of us yearning for more low-key and character driven films – let's call them slow burners with a degree of artistry – must look to the indepedents for our kicks. Winter's Bone was one of the leading independent films of 2010. The critics showered it with accolades and awards, while small pockets of the public championed it as a understated masterpiece. I don't quite find it the amazing, life-changing experience that it has been hailed as in some quarters
but on the whole I'd say Winter's Bone is a unique, original, well-made and frequently riveting "country noir".
In the Ozark Mountains, the Dolly family – 17 year old Ree (Jennifer Lawrence), her younger brother and sister, and their mentally incapacitated mother – receive word that they may be about to lose their home. The absentee father, Jessop Dolly, has put up the family home as a bail bond to guarantee his appearance at a court hearing if he fails to turn up, the house will be taken from them. Ree desperately tries to locate her father but she is just a young girl treading through a close-knit community where men and elders call the shots, and the intrusions of a kid – a female at that – are not deemed acceptable. Aided by her edgy and dangerous uncle Teardrop (John Hawkes), Ree presses ahead with her search and enrages other members of the family who are determined to keep Jessop's affairs – and, indeed, his fate – a secret.
Winter's Bone is perhaps most effective for its sense of authenticity – the ramshackle houses, the perpetually secretive and suspicious characters, the harsh living conditions and the extreme measures required to eke out an existence in the Ozarks, are all captured very convincingly. The scene where Ree teaches her younger siblings how to kill, skin and cook a squirrel would come across as gross and exploitative in most other films, but here it's done with a sense of detached matter-of-factness which beautifully complements the film's authenticity. The performances by the largely unknown cast are uniformly excellent, especially Lawrence as the resourceful girl who breaks every established code of her people to do what's best for her family. There are moments where the dialogue is rather unclear and others where the narrative builds to a head but then stubbornly refuses to provide a pay-off. However for most of its duration Winter's Bone is a very sure-footed and intriguing film which rises to some particularly memorable moments.
In the Ozark Mountains, the Dolly family – 17 year old Ree (Jennifer Lawrence), her younger brother and sister, and their mentally incapacitated mother – receive word that they may be about to lose their home. The absentee father, Jessop Dolly, has put up the family home as a bail bond to guarantee his appearance at a court hearing if he fails to turn up, the house will be taken from them. Ree desperately tries to locate her father but she is just a young girl treading through a close-knit community where men and elders call the shots, and the intrusions of a kid – a female at that – are not deemed acceptable. Aided by her edgy and dangerous uncle Teardrop (John Hawkes), Ree presses ahead with her search and enrages other members of the family who are determined to keep Jessop's affairs – and, indeed, his fate – a secret.
Winter's Bone is perhaps most effective for its sense of authenticity – the ramshackle houses, the perpetually secretive and suspicious characters, the harsh living conditions and the extreme measures required to eke out an existence in the Ozarks, are all captured very convincingly. The scene where Ree teaches her younger siblings how to kill, skin and cook a squirrel would come across as gross and exploitative in most other films, but here it's done with a sense of detached matter-of-factness which beautifully complements the film's authenticity. The performances by the largely unknown cast are uniformly excellent, especially Lawrence as the resourceful girl who breaks every established code of her people to do what's best for her family. There are moments where the dialogue is rather unclear and others where the narrative builds to a head but then stubbornly refuses to provide a pay-off. However for most of its duration Winter's Bone is a very sure-footed and intriguing film which rises to some particularly memorable moments.