Review of Winter's Bone (2010) by Dawdlingpoet — 24 Nov 2021

This movie is quite slow to build plot and its very much dialogue based. It deptics a rather cold (in atmosphere) part of rural America, a bleak and somehow rather harsh seeming landscape, with land unsuitable for growing on.

Some scenes are shot in the dark, adding to the bleakness. This movie definitely covers the old ground of a community turning against the perceived troublemaker and with this being a very American movie, expect quite southern accents (think along the lines of almost 'this town aint big enough for the both of us' type talk).

During the movie, I found myself siding with Ree, hoping for the best. Its clear that she's a strong woman, who seems to be remarkably mature for her age and is having to deal with the bad set of circumstances she's been given regarding her parents - another child made to grow up very early, with responsibility and who is looking for guidance but not getting much help. She comes across as very strong and able to fight her corner and yet there are also moments which shows her vulnerability as well. Clearly this is a tense movie, with some scenes really keeping you guessing who is going to react first and in what way, both in terms of the authorities and the community try to settle things. I noticed that the musical score or/and background music was cleverly placed, adding to the menacing tone of the movie overall. There are scenes which include slow banjo playing and other scenes with more sinister, quieter stringed instruments audible in the background, again creating added tension.

This movie works pretty well due to the characters involved and the developing relationship between the community and Ree (the 'them vs us' type scenario, I suppose). I felt that the movie could have been improved by focussing perhaps a bit more on the children, Ree's siblings, which don't have much screen time. I also felt that the end was rather abrupt and it left me with many questions which obviously weren't answered. I feel that the movie was made to make you think about and question how people in such situations as Ree, are seen and treated. This is a pretty short movie, at about an hour and half long, although if it had been much longer then it probably would seem to drag on a bit much, given its quite a slow and winding movie, plot wise. Don't be expecting much in the way of action, although there is some bloody violence but not a great deal of visual action, no long chase scenes or explosions, nothing like this - this is a slower, more gritty, dialogue based movie I'd say, if that makes sense. I felt that the cast did well, with Jennifer Lawrence giving a particularly notable performance as the main character Ree.

Yes, if this is your kind of movie then I'd say its worth checking out. Its a bit slow and quite dark (literally and figuratively) but it is pretty tense and the characters are quite well portrayed. I felt quite absorbed by it, thanks to the score used and the acting etc. although it should again be noted that the story doesn't end with everything being answered, so the ending may frustrate some but overall, I suppose I would recommend this, yes.