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I am not sure what is says about our world that the most realistic films are always incredibly bleak and grim. Winter’s Bone is not exception, filmed on location, in real homes and partially even with real people as actors, the story and film are gritty and realistic. That being said, do not expect your average run-of-the-mill melodrama about a sister rising her kids etc. Behind the superficial problems of surviving without money and a job lies haunting and terrifying visions about life in the netherzone that is Ozard. Infused with vigilantism, methcookers and wife-beaters, the setting is a study in pale blue and gloominess.

One thing which strikes me as fascinating about this movie is that is does have some sort of good ending (I am not saying happy), solving the major conflicts in the film to some degree without derailing into some sort of weird Disney Dance off.

The acting is superb but it must be said that I do have a thing for the remote North American States so I am biased when it comes to that. The accents are interesting and transport into the other world like none other. One of the best things about this film is probably the cinematography. Muted colours and almost surreal landscapes and locations. The story itself is simple but that makes it the more believable and tangible and the crux of the film is not he story but how different interested parties go about tackling the issue within the isolated microcosm of the setting.

A brilliant movie, a dark poem and haunting tale.

HX

Is this the film of Sundance 2010? Winter’s Bone certainly thinks so, though it’s not screaming it from the rafters. This is a far more subtle, poetic thing. A cinematic expression of the season as a living being. A creature that has had its skin and sinew picked clean by the parasites that live in the unforgiving and isolated Ozark Mountain region of its body.

In a shack that threatens to fall down around her ears we meet 17-year-old Ree (Jennifer Lawrence). Tasked with cooking, cleaning, feeding and caring for her younger siblings, she is thrust into her own brutal rite-of-passage when her drug dealing absentee father, Jessop, skips bail. Unless she can bring him in to face charges, her family stands to lose their home and livelihood. So she sets off to pick up a trail that leads her up the mountain and smack up against an unspoken code that lives thick in the blood of a people that act like some retributive Old Testament tribe.

It’s blood that ties everyone together, but don’t for a minute think this will lead us to some moment of healing between father and daughter. Jessop is a man seen or spoken of in fragments. None of them good or remembered with fondness. A bullet from a feud; a liquor bottle; a burned out meth lab; a traumatised wife that can barely lift a finger to help her kids. A terrible violence surrounds him, and by connection, Ree. You know this will not be a good end when gentle acts are confronted by great menace and a little girl must become bounty hunter if she wants her family to survive. A cowgirl in a Carhartt jacket, if you will.

It’s a role that Lawrence fills perfectly. Blessed with an astonishing maturity, beauty, strong shoulders and a piercing tongue, this is a remarkable performance. A breakout. And she’s not alone. John Hawkes is terrifying as Ree’s uncle Tear Drop, a man of lithe muscularity and riven with tattoos that look like ancient sigils screaming: “Stay. The Fuck. Away.” Together they make for an interesting twist on the Western genre. Tear Drop is, initially the boogie man, threatening and assaulting. Later he’s the enforcer sidekick. The man who can stare down a cop in a stand-off shot through the rear view mirror of a truck, yet is fated, as his final line so poignantly suggests, to suffer the same bloody fate as his brother.

You feel the film channelling the sprit of Cormac McCarthy. The dialogue sparse, clipped, lyrical. Sending signals along the pulsing, ominous strings on the soundtrack So much so it wouldn’t surprise me if director Granik was offered his masterwork Blood Meridian off the back of this work. They’re that good a match.

A rich vein of vibrant, vital detail is tapped with masterful precision and stark beauty. Such as a tooth, the result of a vicious tribal punishment, that is dropped into a jar of water, giving off blood trails in its wake like roots from a strange fruit, attempting to sprout. An unlikely occurrence in this barren landscape of scab-ash ground and woods that swallow up everything but the crack of gunshots. And yet a gift from Tear Drop, the ominous tribal regulator, and brother to Jessop, gives us hope. A pair of baby chicks, blazing like sun fire in the hands of Rhea’s younger brother. It’s a small sign of life in this unrelenting, yet utterly mesmerising cinematic vision.

Il fait froid dans le Missouri, même quand on a 17 ans. Debra Granik nous plonge dans l’Amérique pauvre et violente du Midwest, entre le néoréalisme des frères Dardenne et la brutalité de Boorman dans “Délivrance”. La photographie crépusculaire, la dureté des personnages, font de ce polar rural un film initiatique dense et terrifiant, entre la fable désenchanté et le documentaire taiseux. Une autre Amérique.

Empujada por sus triunfos en los Spirits Awards del cine independiente americano mejor actor y actriz secundarios y sus cuatro nominaciones al Oscar, incluyendo la de Mejor Película, finalmente se estrena en nuestro país Invierno Profundo (Winter’s Bone, EU, 2010), segundo largometraje de Debra Granik inédita en México Down to the Bone (2004), filme ganador del Gran Premio del Jurado en Sundance 2010.
Sobre la alabada novela homónima de Daniel Woodrell, he aquí el duro registro de la supervivencia en la zona conocida como las Montañas Ozark, en Missouri, en la “América profunda”, por llamarla de alguna manera, un escenario en el que la impresionante belleza natural está rodeada por la miseria y el abandono en el que viven sus habitantes, los despreciados y/o ridiculizados serreños o “hillbillies”, como les dicen por allá. En ese sitio, una indómita jovencita de 17 años, Ree Dolly (espléndida Jennifer Lawrence), tiene unas cuantas horas para salvar lo que le queda del patrimonio familiar. Su papá, Jessup, libre bajo fianza, ha desaparecido del mapa y si no se presenta a cierta audiencia judicial clave, el Estado le quitará la casa y los terrenos de la familia, pues Jessup dejó como fianza todas sus propiedades. Ree está sola -su mamá está catatónica no sabemos por qué y sus dos hermanos menores son demasiado pequeños, así que tiene que encontrar a su papá, vivo o muerto, para evitar que los echen de su casa. Este es el trayecto físico, existencial, moral que recorrerá Ree en toda la cinta, una odisea dificil de olvidar.
No sé qué tan fiel a la novela original es el guión escrito por la propia directora y Anne Rosellini, pero lo que vemos en pantalla es una competente fusión dramática/visual de un oscuro neo-noir campirano y un clásico woman’s film con todas las de la ley. En efecto, por lo menos dos elementos centrales del cine femenino tal como lo definió la cinecrítica Molly Haskell están presentes en los dilemas que enfrenta Ree: el sacrificio el riesgo latente que corre su vida y el sufrimiento pues las consecuencias de la búsqueda del padre serán, en algún momento, brutales. Sin embargo, Invierno Profundo es mucho más que un sólido melodrama femenino: el entorno en el que se mueve Ree es el de una pequeña y cerrada sociedad formada por clanes que se dedican a la producción de cristal (o sea, clorhidrato de metanfetamina) en laboratorios caseros y clandestino en esa zona de Missouri. Así que la búsqueda de su papá es, literalmente, entre la familia, la de sangre y la criminal que, por lo menos en el escenario mostrado por Granik es exactamente lo mismo.
Ree no puede aceptar un “no” de quienes la rodean -del sherif del pueblo (Garret Dillahunt), de su amenazante tío cocainómano Teardrop (John Hawkes, ganador del Spirit y nominado al Oscar), de la correosa matrona gangsteril Merab (impresionante Dale Dickey, injustamente ninguneada por el Oscar aunque ganadora del Spirit), del viejo jefe mafioso inaccesibleThump (Ronnie Hall) porque ese “no” significaría perder a su familia, a su madre, a sus hermanitos. Ella sabe que al hacer preguntas y al importunar a quien no debe, está arriesgando su vida, pero no tiene otra opción. Así pues, esta endurecida jovencita es una auténtica heroína noir que no se asusta por nada pues, ¿por qué tendría que asustarse si ha vivido y crecido entre criminales que en un momento la pueden matar y otro instante después salvar?
Granik muestra cómo se vive en estas circunstancias, sin juzgar ni idealizar a sus personajes. Tampoco opta por el miserabilismo ya me imagino qué haría González Iñárritu con una historia así ni, mucho menos, por la caricatura. Su idea es tratar de entender la forma en que viven y mueren estas personas, cuáles son sus códigos de conducta y cuáles sosn sus reglas, si es que tiene alguna. El filme va de menos a más, no sólo en la intensidad dramática de la narrativa fílmica sino en la complejidad de los personajes: al final vemos cómo criminales endurecidos, sin dejar de ser criminales y sin reclamar nuestra simpatía, guardan algún resto mínimo de humanidad. Y eso hace más dificil asentar lo que hemos visto en pantalla.
Termino con una pregunta retórica: ¿cuándo habrá una película mexicana que retrate con seriedad y profundidad el mundo del cultivo y la producción de drogas en la sierra de Sinaloa, Durango, Chihuahua? ¿Nunca? ¿De plano?

A atuação de Jennifer Lawrence é o grande motor de Winter’s Bone. À procura de seu pai para não perder a casa em que vive com dois irmãos e uma mãe moribunda, Jeniffer enfrenta todos em uma terra insípta, suja e decadente. Ao mesmo tempo, ainda reside em seu olhar uma beleza virginal de uma garota que perdeu a juventude para cuidar da família, carregar um cruz que ela acredita está predestinada a ser dela.

A partir do segundo ato, porém, toda aquela garota que ainda existe parece sumir e dar lugar a uma nova mulher que se assemelha a todas que passam pelo filme, meio cruéis ou apenas adaptadas ao meio em que vivem. E assim o pequeno filme se desenvolve, sem outros planos ou pretenções maiores, apenas projetando o talento lapidado de Lawrence.

Title: Winter’s Bone
Year: 2010
Country: USA
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Director: Debra Granik
Writers: Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini
Cast:
Jennifer Lawrence
John Hawkes
Lauren Sweetser
Dale Dickey
Garret Dillahunt
Casey MacLaren
Sheryl Lee
Tate Taylor
Kevin Breznahan
Isaiah Stone
Ashlee Thompson
Valerie Richards
Shelley Waggener
William White
Rating: 8/10

A powerful paean to the American indie film and emanates some truly chilling pathos to its audience, from female director Debra Granik’s second film (her debut feature Down To The Bone 2005 is a fierce work with a daring performance by Vera Farmiga), and it portrays a compelling story of an American impoverished family’s struggle to survive under the backdrop of equally needy Ozark Mountain with a potentially mind-blowing showdown.

The film has been gaining Oscar buzz since its release this Jan. After almost one-year campaigning, I think it will embrace its munificent fruit in this coming Oscar, especially for Jennifer Lawrence, a Best Actress nomination is seizable now, John Hawkes and Dale Dickey are also likely to get some recognition after being in the shades for quite a long time. Also Debra’s script, directing are both Oscarworthy, maybe a Best Picture nomination is not a pipe dream as well.

The photography is bleak and heart-wrenchingly beautiful, it lures viewers to unconsciously be submitted to the bewitching future of the protagonist. A precious quality of this film is that it offers us warmth in spite of the tough background, through the whole film, we can hardly assert that some characters are pure evil, there are plenty of stories and room behind every character, if one wants, many films could be derived from it.

It’s a truly pleasure to watch this film, it instantly becomes my No.3 film of 2010 (after Inception and The Kids Are All Right), one thing I have to mention is that the branch of John Hawkes’ character is a tad moot, but I can sense a self-doom destination hinted in the end. The final showdown scene on the river is blood-freezing and aftermath remains clear and distinct in my mind.

I had the pleasure of seeing this Film in a relatively crowded theater in Missouri, not far from the location of where it was actually shot. It was interesting to see the viewers’ reactions to certain scenes in the Film, and being able to react myself (I was born in Missouri and visit every year). I think Granik did a really great job capturing the feel of deep rural Missouri- in other words, the back road white trash all Missourians are usually associated with thanks to the rest of the American population. The lead Actress was really good, and I actually overheard that she was basically portraying something not far from who she really is, supposedly the Director found her up there in that house and used her and her Family as part of the cast. Winter’s Bone was simple and it was interesting, but I wasn’t really as captivated as I hoped I would be. It was too long for how few suspenseful moments there actually were. Too many things were revealed off the bat, and I would have liked there to have been more revelations instead of searching and searching for what we already knew. I think the ending really saved the whole thing for me, along with the moments here and there that gave me a jolt.

Winter’s Bone is, quite simply, the best American picture that I have seen this year, and it’s not even close. In fact it is the best damn film I have seen this year. Debra Granik’s film, set in the Ozarks in Missouri, follows in the great tradition of the film noir. Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is basically the jagged detective who is determined to uncover the truth about what happened to her dad. The film revolves around 3 key performances from Lawrence, John Hawkes, and Dale Dickey. Boy do those performances deliver.

The plot revolves around Ree Dolly (Lawrence), a 17 year old girl living in the Ozarks who has become a mother figure to her brother Sonny (Isaiah Stone) and her sister Ashlee (Ashlee Thompson) because her mother has basically exited the picture. She is around but for whatever reason, we are led to believe that it is because of drugs, she can no longer take care of her kids. Her dad Jessup is a crystal meth dealer/addict who put up their house on bail however his court date is nearing and he is nowhere to be found.

That becomes a huge problem when Sheriff Baskin (Garret Dillahunt) shows up at the house and tells Ree that she needs to find him otherwise her family will lose their house. She sets out on a search through a hellish terrain reminiscent of The Road, with the reluctant help of her uncle Teardrop (Hawkes) who is her dad’s only brother.

Like most film noir, the story follows Ree going from person to person trying to piece together most of the clues. She is very scrappy and never loses her cool, even when faced in some of the most extreme situations. One of the characters she meets is Merab (Dickey), and while I won’t give away who her character is, I will say that Merab is one of the most vivid and terrifying characters I have seen since Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight.

There are so many instances where Granik could have sunken to cliche and given us a hackneyed and misery filled diatribe about how hard life is in the Ozarks. She could have also been really preachy and let her message completely take over the film. She doesn’t do that. Every scene and every piece of dialogue moves the plot forward. The film benefits from shooting in Branson, Missouri and to Granik’s credit, a lot of the supporting players are local townsfolk. They all do magnificent jobs. One actress to keep an eye out for is Lauren Sweester who plays Ree’s best friend Gail. She just graduated from Missouri State and is apparently in talks to appear in project for Steven Spielberg.

I mentioned the three key performances at the start and I would be remiss if I didn’t talk more about them. Jennifer Lawrence gives a star-making performance as Ree and it is one that immediately goes on the shortlist for an Oscar. It is a fierce performance, as she doesn’t so much act as inhabit the role of Ree. If she isn’t nominated for Best Actress, something will be really wrong because this is the best damn performance I have seen this year. John Hawkes is as good as Lawrence is in the role of Teardrop. He completely loses himself in the role of a hateful yet fiercely loyal man who is a product of his environment. We see the tenderness in this character. I can’t imagine another actor playing that part. Dale Dickey is truly terrifying in the role of Merab, so realistic it becomes scary.

Granik’s film is noir down to it’s bone. It actually reminded me of the high school noir Brick, with it’s use of the heightened language and how faithful it is to these conventions. Like Brick, Winter’s Bone is a film you might have to see two or three times just to unravel what is going on. I know I am looking forward to seeing it again.

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