I admit it: I was a little hesitant to watch Winter's Bone. A few days before, I had watched the trailer and thought it looked like a doom and gloom movie that would have a depressing ending and make me want to send the director to therapy. That may be an exaggeration, but let's just say that my hopes weren't extremely high. Now, I'll be the first to admit that the film was bearable. Scratch that - I actually enjoyed it.
Nominated for four Oscars - including Best Picture - the film follows the story of the determined Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence), a 17-year-old living in the sticks of the Ozark Mountains. As head of the financially strapped family, Ree takes care of her terminally and mentally sick mother and two impossibly cute younger siblings. When Ree hears that her father has put their house up as part of his bail, she turns to her shady, hostile, drug-dealing - and just plain messed up - extended family for help. Things just seem to go from bad to worse as none of her extended family is inclined to help, and the loss of the house and even of her younger siblings begins to loom threateningly. No spoilers here, but let's just say that I couldn't have predicted the ending.
Because of all the buzz about her nomination for Best Actress, I was curious to see just how good Jennifer Lawrence really was - and trust me, I'm picky. Her performance was nothing short of stellar. She nailed the character of Ree, allowing emotion to come across in her acting, but still playing the tough girl. If she puts this much dedication and talent into all of her future roles, then this is one face we will be seeing at a lot more Academy Awards.
Winter's Bone isn't a feel-good movie by any means, and it's definitely not always easy to watch. Director and screenwriter Debra Granik was not afraid to give a realistic look at the severity or brutality in the Dollys' family life. I empathized with Ree as she tries to teach her siblings how to shoot and hunt for survival. I cringed as I watched a teenager beaten by her own relatives. But one of the biggest strengths of the movie is its heartbreaking honesty. It pulls no punches when it depicts real poverty or hurt. There is hope at the end, but there is pain too. The movie emphasizes that life isn't always easy, and things don't always end the way you think they will. That may not be a hunky-dory happily ever after, but it's real life. With such gritty realism in its favor, it's going to be difficult to ignore this film at the Oscars.
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