Winter's Bone
And that's 10 for 10. Went out with a bang too. A hell of a riveting bang. Haunting. Dismal. Gritty. Bleak. Engrossing. Gripping. And above all, great cinema. All certainly describe Winter's Bone. The story is akin to any number of thrillers or crime thrillers. Someone has to find/prove something before time runs out and something horrible happens. And there are- of course- a number of individuals who are definitely invested in that someone NOT finding what he or she needs to find. In this case, 17-year-old Ree needs to find her meth-cooking father in a matter of a few days or she looses her primitive Ozarks house- the same house that allows her to provide for her ailing mother and younger and dependent brother and sister; this house is ALL they have besides each other. For Ree, finding her Dad is a matter of life and death for her family. She has no choice, she simply has to find her dad or at least find out what happened to him. Along the way, Ree runs a foul of some fairly nasty elements- folks who know what happened to her Dad, but it's in their best interest not to share this information. These are people who can make life even more hellish for Ree. But given no other choice, she's got to do what she's got to do- as unfathomable as that is.
The story of Ree doing what she has to do plays out in such a fantastically gripping manner. It's hard to look away even though there are definitely times you'd really like to. The tension here plays very much like a gangster pic. The only difference is that here, the bleak existence of the Ozarks stands in for the mean streets and shady corners of NYC and New Jersey. The sense that something could go horribly wrong at any moment still very much permeates the story. You just can't help but stay glued to the screen waiting to see if things will take that turn for the worst. Masterful story telling here. It really is. What's interesting is that despite seeing how absolutely shitty her existence in this utterly depressing world is, you never for a second question why Ree needs to do anything and everything in her power to hold on to what little she has. It might have been easy to think: why bother? How much worse can things get? But, no. Here- through the incredible performance of Jennifer Lawrence, you can sense and FEEL why this matters to Ree. Lawrence leaves no doubts about Ree's determination and desperation; she absolutely disappears into her role much to the benefit of the viewing audience. It's mesmerizing to watch. Kudos to Lawrence for making her character... I don't know.. real.
Actually, yeah, real. That's the one thing that sets this film apart from lesser crime thrillers. It feels real and true. It feels easier to relate to somehow...which is odd because most of the folks who will end up seeing this will never know what it feels like to live in such conditions and to be backed into such an impossible corner. The way the story is told and the virtuoso performance by Lawrence go along way into providing that feeling of empathy.
There's not a lot to dislike about Winter's Bone, other than it really SHOULD be a harder movie to watch. But, as I've mentioned above, the challenge is actually in trying to look away. Oh, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention John Hawkes' incredible performance as Ree's uncle, Teardrop. Hawkes brought an amazing amount of intensity and life to the role- it was stunning to watch. Much like the movie on the whole. It's definitely one that will stick with me for some time... and I mean that in the best possible way. Well done Debra Granik and company, well done.
Grade: A+
No comments:
Post a Comment