If you want the definition of an indie film look no further than
Winters Bone. While it has received wide acclaim and four Oscar nominations - including the indie nod in this years bloated Best Picture category - I can't help but wonder whether there were a plethora of films far more worth. While it is a solidly made movie, with an impressive leading performance by
Jennifer Lawrence, demonstrating a maturity far beyond her 17 years of age (when filming), it lacks any real will or momentum and meanders horribly into a dithering, bleak yarn. The film is released on
Blu-ray where I imagine many will see it for the first time. Here is our review... Lawrence plays Ree Dolly, an unflinching 17-year old, Ozark Mountain girl, doing her best to raise her little brother and sister on a thread-bare shoestring budget, while supporting her mentally ill Mother. Their dinner comprises of fried, mouldy potatoes - skin and all, better than nothing, as Ree puts it. Their father has gone AWOL; though you get the impression hes never been around much, and theyre not losing much sleep over his disappearance. But when Ree is informed that her Father has put up their house as collateral for his bail and unless he shows up for his trial in a week's time, they will lose it all, she is forced to track him down, dead or alive. If hes dead, they keep the house; if hes alive then she must convince him to go to court.
Unfortunately he was not a liked man in their close-knit community; hated would not be too strong of a word. Ree is well aware of his involvement in the local drug trade of manufacturing crystal meth, and knows the people he was involved in, so in an attempt to track him down she starts knocking on doors. Every one is quickly closed in her face, with the message, stop poking your nose in other people's business, or else. Refusing to heed to the warning of the locals, or her fathers brother Teardrop (
John Hawkes, in a performance that has gained him an Oscar nominated for best supporting actor) Ree delves deeper into the world, only to find out what or else meant. She endures a brutal beating at the hands of the locals, losing a tooth in the process, but it doesnt weaken her resolve, you can kill me or help me. Being granted the former with the help of uncle Teardrop, she looks into an alternate solution to save the house joining the army for the $40, 000 joining fee, is far less straight-forward than she though. With no other option, she convinces Teardrop to help her knock on the same doors again, and this time, knock a little harder.
Winters Bone is a very truthful movie with a strong air of authenticity. Director
Debra Granik conveys an authentic world, with three-dimensional characters that you believe inhabit this place. This is strengthened by the authenticity of the performances. Jennifer Lawrence is commanding in the role of a country girl with basic values that she holds dear: family is first! Her performance is subtle, genuine and very emotive. Scenes of her raising her younger siblings (6 and 12) are beautiful and moving. Teaching them to cook, quizzing them on spelling and multiplication while they walk their dog and teaching them to shoot, show how she has fully embraced the paternal strain. She never complains, she never laments the loss of a childhood or a teenage life. Equally strong are her scenes with her sick, and un-communicative Mother, who she desperately needs and seeks advice from. Lawrence is deserving of her Oscar nomination. The rest of the cast also give solid performances that seem very much of the world. James Hawkes is the stand out, though his Oscar nomination is quite perplexing, given the calibre of other supporting performances this year; both Andrew Garfield and (it hurts me to say) Justin Timberlake would have been far more worth of the nomination.
The films real problem is pace; it is dreadfully slow and meanders for long periods. While the realness of the character of Ree is a strength, the fact she never does anything particularly remarkable is a weakness. We are given a number of scenes that dont inform us of anything more than we already know or could have assumed. Scenes that could so easily contain drama, or add depth to the story are instead used to add depth to the character, which although is moving, does get rather tiresome, when there is a clear plot here which could easily be very exciting and tense. Perhaps this is a matter of taste; while I did not start watching Winters Bone expecting a Hollywood blockbuster I quickly saw the potential for a tense thriller, in the vein of Chinatown. What I got was something that I found interesting at points and emotional, but something that ultimately bored me for long periods and left me wanting for further exploration of other areas of the plot and the community. Winter's Bone is available on
Blu-ray from today.