Winter's Bone Reviewed

Okay, I will admit that seeing Jennifer Lawrence in this dress at the Oscars may have had something to do with me putting Winter's Bone on top of the Netflix Que. Can you really blame me? Look how "healthy" she looks. (I just hope she does not starve away her curves ala Kate Bosworth for the upcoming Hunger Games) Unfortunately for me, Jennifer's Winter's Bone garb is a lot less revealing and a lot more white trashy than the stuff she strutted around during the awards ceremony.    

She still looks pretty good in that white trash sort of way. Besides,  like I said before, that red dress was not the only reason I decided to watch this movie...

I am also a big fan of John Hawkes of Deadwood fame.

It is good to see him getting recognized for his fine portrayal of Teardrop, a vengeful crank addicted uncle in this rural mystery set in the Ozarks.

All those award nominations also played a factor in my decision.

Jennifer plays Ree Dolly, a 17 year old high school dropout who is saddled with the responsibility of taking care of her two younger siblings and her sick mother on the family farm. As if she did not have enough trouble keeping her little family fed and together, the sheriff shows up to tell her that her crank dealing dad has disappeared after putting up the family's property as bond. It is now up to Ree to navigate her way through the closely guarded, male centric world of her father's associates in order to discover his whereabouts.

Let's just say that nobody want's her to find out what happens.

Winter's Bone ended up being a pretty solid film that seemed more about the poverty stricken community that the Dolly clan resides in than the actual mystery of Ree's father's disappearance. Director Debra Granik creates a believable world of isolation and poverty and while you continue to watch to find out what happened to Ree's Dad, it is the sheer power of the place that the mystery happens in that makes you remember the film long after the credits stop rolling. With fine performances by Jennifer and the rest of the cast, you are left to ponder about whether or not these people and places still exist out there in back roads of our nation.

It also makes you not want to try crank anytime soon.