Review of Winter's Bone (2010) by Ricardo C — 02 Jun 2012

It's not just life, people, culture in the Southern US but rural social norms period. The Americana aspect repaints the image of ugly, backward and simple-minded Southerners, or at least familiarizes with a palpable and realistic platform, like a documentary feel, typical of indies that dispel cartoonish notions of things.

Also standard for indies comes a devotion to script and characters, sporting a cast with each performing their roles believably, including a female lead that carries the weight of the film on her shoulders and succeeds.

The plot, a pretty much solid work (Although the end's kinda convenient in my eyes), takes a bit to get going at first but after the introduction of every character it becomes difficult to turn away.

There's a slight detail where the formula for the folks' reactions becomes predictable and expected, and so what's seen as stark and unadulterated turns somewhat dry, but that may be my prejudice in having experienced the familial approach before.

Blue, chilly, wintry photography round up this admirable drama and set the backstabbing and raw climate quite nicely.