It's great when a film that has a trailer that excites you lives up to expectation and when it proves to be one of those rare low-budget gems, even better.
I think what grabbed me most in Winter's Bone was the authenticity of the setting. Shot on location in the remote and poor communities of the Ozark mountains in Missouri the homes, yards and bars couldn't be more real. Set against a bleak winter back drop it is such realism coupled with performances that are superbly underplayed that gives the film a palpable sense of danger and tension from the outset.
Seventeen year-old Ree Dolly, played by relative new-comer Jennifer Lawrence, is bringing up her young brother and sister for her mother who has an unidentified illness, most probably something mental, and absentee drug-dealer father. She takes them to school, does their homework with them, chops wood for the fire and even shoots squirrels when there is not enough food to eat and money has run out.
When the police call on her to let her know that her father has put their house up as a bond and subsequently disappeared days before trial it sets Ree on a long and dangerous search for him among a community where loyalty runs to an almost feudal level and mistrust of authority is a given.
The resourceful, mature, bright yet vulnerable Ree is a character you immediately get behind. As her search for her father takes her into ever more dangerous territory she teaches her younger siblings survival techniques, showing them how to prepare the squirrels and cook basic meals, displaying a stoic realism for the situation she finds herself and its potential outcome. As the film approaches it's gruesome conclusion, I have to admit I was on the edge of my seat.
Winter's Bone proves that you don't have to have a lot of money to make a great film, it also proves the independent cinema is alive and kicking.
The aggregated reviews:
Rotten Tomatoes UK gives it a rating of 94%
Metacritic gives is 90 out of 100
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