Review of Winter's Bone (2010) by Wes S — 21 Mar 2012

The more times I see this movie the more I love it, this is one of the few movies I have given a 5 star rating to.

In the vein of Lori Petty's autobiography drama The Poker House, and starring Jennifer Lawrence (who starred in both films), this is a film about an insular family of hillbillies The Miltons and the Dolly's, living in the Ozarks they alll cook crystal meth and have an established hierarchy in their organized crime family.

The story focuses on 17 year old Ree Dolly who is forced to take care of her sick mother and her two younger siblings after her meth dealing father runs out on them. But when the authorities tell her that her father signed over their house and land to his bond, Ree sets out to find him and make sure he makes his court appearance so they don't lose the house. Forced to confront some dangerous characters within her family, Ree risks her life to find her dad and keep their house, and discovers some dark family secrets along the way.

This is a somewhat slow paced and dark drama/suspense film with a noir style to it and killer performances from the whole cast, but especially Jennifer Lawrence. You can really relate to her character as she tries to take care of her family at any cost. This film really captures exactly what it set out to and draws you into the story with great character development, atmosphere, cinematography, music, and performances which were all seamless. Highly recommend it.