Winter's Bone (2010)

When a movie receives such high praise from the Academy, you expect a certain standard. You expect something that the critics will masturbate over, something involving hardship, failure and inevitable success.

Jennifer Lawrence as Ree Dolly.

Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is a 17 year old girl responsible for raising her younger brother and sister and caring for her mentally ill mother, while trying to stay positive in their horrible living situation. Ree is confronted by the local sheriff regarding her missing, drug cooking father who has an impending court date. He has used the family home and land as collateral for his bond. If he does not appear in front of the judge then they will lose their home. And so begins Ree's journey through the harsh underbelly of the redneck community looking for her father.

The rednecks that live in the Ozark mountains are very distrustful of any outsiders, but surprisingly enough they are just as skeptical of friends and family. They are family, however, even family comes second to the illegal activities they are involved with. Don't ask and I won't tell would be the perfect way to describe them.

Jennifer Lawrence's performance was certainly worthy of all the praise she received, she can act better than half of the females in Hollywood, and will become an absolute star in years to come. John Hawkes has rivaled Jennifer with his portrayal of Teardrop, Ree's uncle. He is one of the most underrated actors in the world today.
Debra Granik the director has captured the bleak and gloomy life that the characters are living through, easily her best work yet.

The script was as good as it could be, using the mannerisms of the Ozark people really improved the entire film. The fact that Winter's Bone was filmed in the local area gave the viewer a real inside look at the harsh realities that are in our world.

I personally did not like this film, however I can look past that and understand why people did enjoy it. If you like your drama's hard hitting and realistic, then by all means check it out.

8/10