Review of Frozen River (2008) by Valerie P — 16 Sep 2013

I feel that I should like this film more than I do. I always appreciate a story that talks about truths left unspoken, and I feel that the situations in this film are often left well alone. Life on a reservation can be tough, as the character Lila Littlewolf has discovered. Yet life for a low-income single mother can be tough anywhere, as we see when hardworking mom, Ray, makes some bad choices for all the right reasons.

There is something so familiar about all this to me. I grew up in upstate New York and have Native American heritage. My family definitely knew hard times and rough Christmases. My own daughter is called Lilah (the added "h" making no change to the pronounciation).

I suppose that the film may have suffered from too much realism; without enough to buoy you up and give your emotions some relief. The shots were utterly bleak and drab; just endless snow and colorless surroundings. The tale was definitely one of woe, with only the slight consolation of a halfway happy ending.

Don't watch this if you're depressed already! On the other hand, it serves to educate the masses about reservation life and the realities of illegal immigration; with those poor immigrants suffering so much to supposedly reach a better life.