Winter's Bone (2010)
Starring Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes
Directed by Debra Granik
Ree Dolly (Lawrence) lives in the Ozark Mountains with her sickly (almost mute) mother and her younger brother and sister. Her father has been in and out of prison for both dealing and making drugs and on his last venture into incarceration, he used his family's home and land as bond in order to get released. When Ree's father (whom she hasn't seen in years) doesn't show for a court hearing, she discovers that his failure to appear will allow the state to seize property of the family home. Desperate to keep her family intact, Ree begins a search for her deadbeat father which leads her into a rather seedy world of drug-dealing hicks who are depicted as being only a little higher up on the food chain than that kid who played the banjo in Deliverance.
There's no doubt that Jennifer Lawrence is going to be a talent to watch for in years to come. In fact, last year, I had her as my #4 Best Supporting Actress (and my #2 Best Younger Actor/Actress) for her role in The Burning Plain in which she plays essentially the same role -- a young girl who must essentially play the mother to her younger siblings. Lawrence is in every scene in Winter's Bone and, if there's one thing I can praise this film for, without her the film would have been much more of a chore to slug through.
The problem with the flick, which was co-written by director Debra Granik, is that it's so bleak and dreary that it's not the least bit intriguing to watch. I'm not saying I need my movies to be about sunny and happy people, but movies are a visual experience and everything presented here was so bland and greyish-blue. Plus, I simply wasn't all that intrigued with the story. There's supposed to be this aire of mystery involving Ree's father's bad dealings, but I honestly didn't really give a damn. I suppose the mystery is solved in some way, but about two-thirds of the way in, I kept zoning in and out thinking about what movie I'd be able to get next from Netflix once I sent this back.
There's no doubt that Jennifer Lawrence is going to be a talent to watch for in years to come. In fact, last year, I had her as my #4 Best Supporting Actress (and my #2 Best Younger Actor/Actress) for her role in The Burning Plain in which she plays essentially the same role -- a young girl who must essentially play the mother to her younger siblings. Lawrence is in every scene in Winter's Bone and, if there's one thing I can praise this film for, without her the film would have been much more of a chore to slug through.
The problem with the flick, which was co-written by director Debra Granik, is that it's so bleak and dreary that it's not the least bit intriguing to watch. I'm not saying I need my movies to be about sunny and happy people, but movies are a visual experience and everything presented here was so bland and greyish-blue. Plus, I simply wasn't all that intrigued with the story. There's supposed to be this aire of mystery involving Ree's father's bad dealings, but I honestly didn't really give a damn. I suppose the mystery is solved in some way, but about two-thirds of the way in, I kept zoning in and out thinking about what movie I'd be able to get next from Netflix once I sent this back.
The RyMickey Rating: D+
My favorite scene - of course - was the hand scene.
ReplyDeleteRight up my alley.
I'm prepared for some inappropriate comment from Justin here.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I agree that I didn't see that scene coming at all...or at least playing out in that manner.
oops. it's bill nelson in the box office all over again.
ReplyDelete