Review of Winter's Bone (2010) by Blake P — 18 Jan 2013

One of the best films of 2010, and featuring one of the best "star-making" performances ever, "Winter's Bone" is a gritty, unflinching look at a drug community that's ugly yet compelling as it goes on. The characters that reside here may be shady, and most of them live in conditions most of us are afraid to even go near, but it's fascinating how everything works-- everything is so realistic, you'd swear "Winter's Bone" actually is a documentary.

Our heroine is Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence): an country teen who supports her two younger siblings and her mentally ill mother while her meth cooking father apparently ditches bail, then disappears. Ree, facing homless-ness with her helpless family in tow, sets out to find her father-- and if she has to face the community that he was a part of, she will.

Of all of the "big Oscar movies", "Winter's Bone" is one of my favorites. Most attempt to be epic in one way or another, but this film instead chooses to be realistic and dark, with a slew of unknown actors and a small budget on its back. While it could have failed, this is instead a compelling film with so few flaws that you'd swear that it was filmed as a documentary,.

Debra Granik creates a world that's almost scary, with violent drug families at every corner and poverty that's cruel. Yet, it's almost impossible to look away. The characters themselves are so interesting and well-written, that when we're introduced to a new one it's almost exciting. John Hawke's Oscar-nominated portrayal of Teardrop is particularly terrifying-- he's vicious but so creepily quiet and disturbs that every second you feel like he'll crack. Hawke's capture's the essence needed for such a shady character.

But of course, in many years to come, "Winter's Bone" will belong to Lawrence, who is so excellent in her breakout role that you'd swear she'll never be able to top it. She's now a wonderful actress, with great characterizations in "The Hunger Games" and "Silver Linings Playbook", but there's something she brings to Ree that's so terrific that nothing will ever be as good. This film requires more expression than anything, and Lawrence tells a story with her face-- she looks tired, brave, and determined, all the while mastering a backwoods accent and a tough attitude. Most actresses would go deep into the pits of caricatures, but Lawrence instead is quiet and powerful. She's simply superb.

"Winter's Bone" is a wonderful noiry drama that for years to come will be a symbol of great storytelling. No film I've seen has ever been this modest or unsentimental; Granik already looks like a major talent.