Winter's Bone (2010)

I've heard a lot of talk on film sites and movie podcasts about this movie. Winter's Bone was the winner of Best Picture &  Best Screenplay at the Sundance Film Festival, and it's been on the majority of the 2010 Top 10 lists written by movie reviewers whose opinions I respect. This is a story about a young woman named Ree who has to find her father. It looks like he's going to skip out on a court date, and to get out on bail he signed away his family's house and farm. If Ree can't find him in time, they'll lose the house, putting Ree, her little brother and sister and her sick mother out into the cold. I collect my thoughts after the jump.


Winter's Bone stars Jennifer Lawrence as 17 year old Ree on the search for her absentee father. To say her performance is anything but great would be a crime. She is able to portray a strong willed, stern, serious woman when she has to, but then can flip to a caring and nurturing older sister in one moment, or to a terrified young girl in another. The people that surround her are cold, uncaring, and often downright frightening individuals. Almost no one in this movie is anyone I'd want to meet in real life, but Ree goes head to head with most of them and for the most part holds her own. I do not envy her situation, but I can't help but admire her sheer courage and commitment to her family.


The other actor I'd like to make mention of is John Hawkes, who plays Ree's uncle. Just like the character of Ree, he makes some drastic changes through the movie that take you from hating and fearful of him, to thanking God that he's around. There are several scenes in this movie where the tension in the air is palpable, several in part thanks to John Hawkes' great work.

A police officer tells Ree she might lose her home

If I talked about all the things that work well in Winter's Bone, this would simply go on for far too long. To make a long story short, this is a truly amazing movie, and puts most of the films I've seen, even recently, to complete shame. This movie excels at things that make me love movies. Deep characters, great dialog and script, and best of all, amazing acting. There are true moments of tension in here that made me have to remind myself to breathe. If I had to criticize it about anything, it would be that the ending leaves a little to be desired. But only ever so little. Some small questions still linger in the air, but the overall quality of every single other part of this movie more than makes up for it. I expect this is going to be a difficult movie to topple from the top of my list. I welcome anything that manages to do it of course, because anything that manages to be better than Winter's Bone is going to be a treat to watch.