Reviewed by Lamar Kukuk
9/6/10
Genres, cliches and the simple
bias toward putting pretty pictures onscreen mean that poverty is rarely
realistically depicted in the movies. Rural poverty has the extra
strike against it that most Hollywood writers advised to “write what you
know” have never been within 200 miles of it. When it does pop up
onscreen, it's generally that “saintly poverty” rich people like to believe
in, but those of us who've lived among the rural white poor know that the
Hard Working Decent People who populate the cinematic countryside are far
from the only residents of its real-life counterpart. So it takes
an independent filmmakers like Debra Granik, filming exclusively in the
far-from-Hollywood state of Missouri with the help of dozens of “We'd like
to thank...” families listed in the end credits, to create a portrait of
the darkest parts of the backwoods as compellingly real as Winter's
Bone. Powered by a remarkable lead performance by young Jennifer
Lawrence and an equally stunning supporting turn by veteran John Hawkes,
Bone tells a classically simple story (adapted from a novel by Daniel
Woodrell) and leans hard on the fact that we haven't seen this world before.
Unless, of course, it is or has ever been your back yard.
Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence)
is just 17, but she's raising a family consisting of her mentally broken
mother and two younger siblings in the absence of her father, who's fleeing
trial after arrest for running a meth lab. Problem is, he put up
the family property (along with cash provided by a mysterious man who wanted
him out) as collateral for bail, and a bondsman (Tate Taylor) tells Ree
they'll lose the house if he doesn't show up for trial or turn up dead.
With literally nowhere else to go, Ree does the only thing she can:
starts knocking on the doors of her Dad's associates. But they're
a dangerous lot who make it clear they do not appreciate her questions.
Perhaps the only person who can balance the scales between these ruthless
criminals and the courageous but overmatched Ree is her uncle Teardrop
(John Hawkes), a man every bit as dangerous as they are. But will
he choose to stand with his family, or honor his own criminal code?
The world in which Winter's
Bone takes place wasn't such a stranger to moviegoers of the 70's,
when realistic rural settings were not uncommon. But as the movies
have grown more urban and cosmopolitan, the crime-ridden Ozark Mountains
might as well be Pandora, and Granik gets a lot of mileage out of the novelty
of her cast of characters who have never worked for a fabulous New York
magazine. Danger and menace lurk behind every trailer and tree, and
the genius of the scenario that Woodrell (adapted by Granik and Anne Rosellini)
drept up is that for all the formidable guts it takes Ree to face the heartless
people her father called friends, she really has no choice. OK, she
has one choice, abandoning everyone she cares about to a hopeless future
while fleeing to her dream of joining the Army. And it's not that
she doesn't consider it: one of the movie's best scenes gives her
a chance to talk it out with a Recruiter (Russell Schalk, either playing
himself or doing a damn fine impersonation of someone doing so).
But Ree could never look at herself in a mirror again knowing the fate
she'd left her siblings to, and so she soldiers on further and further
down a road that, if no one helps her, can only lead to death.
One of the most interesting
aspects of the story is the way it puts us inside the heads of people to
whom what you and I would call “right” and “wrong” are alien concepts.
The only way to make money here is by breaking the law, and the always-shifty
Dillahunt is well-cast as the Sheriff who never does anything wrong but
remains The Enemy. Like most criminal organizations, the one that
surrounds her is loyal only to the almighty dollar, and for all the Ree
tries to appeal to family ties (it seems everyone she meets is at least
somehow related to her) the bottom line is she's bad for business and there's
no money in helping her.
The biggest headlines about
Winter's Bone have involved Lawrence's lead performance, perhaps
the first of the year likely to land an Oscar nomination, and she is terrific.
For such a young actress, or one of any age, to so shed the trappings of
glamor and convince as someone who's lived their entire lives in backwoods
poverty is an achievement. But on top of that she adds not just Ree's
relentless courage, but also the vulnerability that makes it courageous
rather than merely stupid. Hawkes won't get as much ink or awards
season play (although he should), but his work is equally awesome.
I've known less lethal variations of Teardrop, the constantly high, emotionally
inarticulate man who could go years without cracking a smile or thinking
of anyone but himself. And the veteran character actor NAILS it,
seeming every bit like Graik found him running a meth lab and offered him
a movie role. I loved the way the character stretches outside his
emotional comfort zone to help Ree, but only within certain limits.
When she tells him he always scared her and his response is that she was
always smart that way, I knew exactly what he was talking about.
It's a great, great performance. I should also single out Dale Dickey,
who ends up as the criminals' primary enforcer (after all, if you're going
to beat a teenage girl senseless, a woman should really do the beating,
right?) while sincerely trying to persuade Ree to back down at every turn.
The other performers, many
local actors making their film debuts, are not on quite the same level,
and if Winter's Bone has a significant flaw it's that many of the
performers are more convincing as local color than characters. Given
that the narrative strategy doesn't involve any outsiders to whom Ree can
make explanations or introductions, it's often difficult to tell the characters
apart or follow their connections.
But while it's a little rickety
around the edges, down the middle, Winter's Bone is awesome.
It could make Lawrence (previously best known to fans of The Bill Engvall
Show) a star, and by all rights should goose Hawkes' career to another
level. Director Debra Granik has impressively captured a world most
viewers can count themselves lucky that they'll never see, and a shout-out
to Missouri for being willing to play itself in such an unflattering role.
There's not gonna be a lot of tourism coming out of this one... |
