It's that strength of character that pushes Debra Granik's powerful film. Ree has been forced to grow up way too fast. Her father, Jessup, is known around town as a crook and meth cooker. Those terms aren't nearly as negative in her town as they would be anywhere else. He's almost always in and out of prison, leaving Ree to take care of her two small siblings. Their mother has been through so much she's practically catatonic, unable to provide for her family. Food is a struggle most days. If hunting deer doesn't yield anything, then better hope squirrels are being careless that day, otherwise it's potatoes and whatever else they can find in the fridge. Ree is the only one capable of taking care of the daily chores, from hunting to chopping wood. It's hardened her into a woman tougher than any man. Or so she thinks.
It becomes painfully clear that Jessup isn't going to be coming home soon. He's out of jail, but hasn't made any attempt to contact his family. A local deputy informs Ree that Jessup put the house up for bond, and if he doesn't show up for court they'll lose everything, out on the street just as the dead of winter lies around the corner.
Ree is the only one that can find him, but she needs help, and talking too much in the Ozarks is a quick ticket to a world of hurt. The men are secretive, lording over their ramschackle territory like low-class mafia dons. The idea of answering the questions posed by some female is definitely out of the question. Ree does hook up with her father's volatile brother, Teardrop(an unrecognizable John Hawkes), for help. His first instinct is to scare her into backing off, and it almost works, but Ree's too determined. Her other requests for help don't go nearly as well. It's clear that the men are hiding something, the women too scared for her and themselves to do anything other than warn her off.
Director Debra Granik immerses us completely into this potentially violent world, right alongside Ree and her seemingly hopeless quest for answers. Winter's Bone is a harrowing mystery most of all, but also a sad commentary on those who's lives have seen nothing but hardship and destitution. In one particularly memorable scene, Ree approaches an army recruiter in hopes of signing on after graduation. The recruiter, one of the few seen in movies who isn't looking to take advantage of anyone's ignorance, informs her that she couldn't take her siblings with her if she was sent off to war. Her desperation is so palpable, I was hoping the recruiter would just take a wad of cash out of his pocket and give it to her.
Realistic characterizations like that are par for the course. It's rare that we get a representation of these backwoods folk without it deteriorating into Deliverance
-style "squeal like a pig" stereotypes. Every character is treated with respect, like someone who's situation is influenced almost entirely by the location of their birth. They became who they are in order to survive. Rarely do I walk out of theater and say "I need to know everything that actress has been in right now". Jennifer Lawrence is simply fantastic as the battle-hardened Ree Dolly. When she tells an inquiring bail bondsmen about her family, "I'm a Dolly, bred and buttered" you know exactly what she means. She rarely smiles, and when it does it never seems to come naturally. Her grimaces are far more frequent, as if she's so used to gritting her teeth at whatever punch life is about to throw at her. It's a performance most actresses would die for, and Lawrence is all over it. So too is John Hawkes, who most will recognize as the sortof moppy haired nerdy guy from shows like Eastbound and Down or Lost. He undergoes a complete, believable transformation into the menacing Teardrop.
Winter's Bone won the Grand Jury prize for Dramatic film at this year's Sundance Film Festival, and deservedly so. I have a feeling that we'll be hearing more about it, and in particular Jennifer Lawrence when Oscar season rolls around.
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