Quentin Tarantino has been talking lately of his plans to make a western of sorts set in the south; a 'southern' if you will. The idea being simple enough, take the most American of genres, and change the corner of America in which it is set in order to update it. He may have been beat to the punch this year with Debra Granik's Winter's Bone, which takes a western framework, and transposes it to the Ozark mountains. We are given the story of a seventeen year old girl, Ree (Jennifer Lawrence), who is raising her younger siblings, and taking care of her mentally ill mother in extreme poverty. She is forced to do this because her crystal meth producing father is missing. When she finds out that he skipped out on bail after putting the family home and property up for collateral she is forced to scour the seediest parts of the Ozark mountains, and butt heads with some of it's outlaws in order to find him and save the family from a more uncertain future than already awaits them.
To be clear this film is not an exercise in genre manipulation, but is a taut character based thriller. However there is something to be said about it as a successful modern western in a few areas. Perhaps the most intriguing being the use of landscape and the back country setting as a remaining American frontier. The mountains provide an epic backdrop for the actions of the character to unfold in the foreground, and there is always the feeling that American 'civilization' has either never quite penetrated, or has only ever brushed passed. One of the first images of the film is of children playing outdoors with a skateboard, trying to use it as best they can on their dirt yard. There is also the separation of people in a country this big that creates tension, a scene of a neighbor who's intentions are unclear yelling at the children, and threatening them becomes more than a disturbance when there are no other people nearby to have their attention drawn. In a situation like that there are only the characters present, and whatever conclusion the situation comes to it has to come from them alone. This creates incredible real world intensity, seemingly without even trying.
To be clear this film is not an exercise in genre manipulation, but is a taut character based thriller. However there is something to be said about it as a successful modern western in a few areas. Perhaps the most intriguing being the use of landscape and the back country setting as a remaining American frontier. The mountains provide an epic backdrop for the actions of the character to unfold in the foreground, and there is always the feeling that American 'civilization' has either never quite penetrated, or has only ever brushed passed. One of the first images of the film is of children playing outdoors with a skateboard, trying to use it as best they can on their dirt yard. There is also the separation of people in a country this big that creates tension, a scene of a neighbor who's intentions are unclear yelling at the children, and threatening them becomes more than a disturbance when there are no other people nearby to have their attention drawn. In a situation like that there are only the characters present, and whatever conclusion the situation comes to it has to come from them alone. This creates incredible real world intensity, seemingly without even trying.
The film depicts the culture of the Ozarks in a very specific way. Having no knowledge of these communities I can not say if it is depicted well or not, but I can say that it feels real, and from my experience makes sense to the way people in small communities deal with one another. There is an almost unspoken code in how they deal with one another, and the politics of this code inform the interactions to a large degree. I say almost unspoken because there are scenes of Ree explaining some of these life principles to the younger siblings; "never ask for what ought to be offered" she says sternly, and later as if on cue things are offered to them. Much of this culture has to do with family loyalty, and peoples place in the pecking order. As a teenage girl Ree is asking for trouble by attempting to fight against her circumstance and being impertinent in order to ensure the protection of dearer values.
Because of the value placed on family and the strength of these connections, the scariest character in the film ends up being on Ree's side against his better judgement. This is her uncle Teardrop, played with remarkable skill by John Hawkes. His first line of the film is spoken coolly, and quietly but struck like a hammer, setting the tone of his character from there on. Having seen him play only demure awkward characters this was a change of pace, and a welcome one. I think this performance is easily one of the best of the year, and I hope it means we will be seeing more of Hawkes. However nearly all the performances are very good, especially Jennifer Lawrence who anchors the film with her noble, but steely performance.
Because of the value placed on family and the strength of these connections, the scariest character in the film ends up being on Ree's side against his better judgement. This is her uncle Teardrop, played with remarkable skill by John Hawkes. His first line of the film is spoken coolly, and quietly but struck like a hammer, setting the tone of his character from there on. Having seen him play only demure awkward characters this was a change of pace, and a welcome one. I think this performance is easily one of the best of the year, and I hope it means we will be seeing more of Hawkes. However nearly all the performances are very good, especially Jennifer Lawrence who anchors the film with her noble, but steely performance.
This is the first film of Debra Granik that I have seen, but I feel like I should take a look at her previous film now, and can't wait to see what she has to offer next. The story moved at a pace that was at once tense, but slow reflecting the type of life the film attempts to show. There was an element of mystery, and a ticking clock device in the film, but it never for a second felt like a Hollywood thriller. These devices were used to show character in a decisive way, not used as ends in themselves. The tone was bleak and never offers any real sense that one can escape the desperate circumstances. However it is an effective thriller, and we don't go to thrillers to feel good about ourselves, that is just stupid.
Bottom line: A tense, bleak thriller that can cross over into horror movie territory, and looks unblinkingly at extreme poverty and degrees of child abuse. Having said that There aren't many films released this year that can stand in the same league as Winter's Bone, and it was a sincere treat to walk into the theatre in the middle of the worst crop of summer movies I can think of and see a great film, the type that doesn't reach the cineplexes until award season. If you can deal with a film that takes a long harsh look at a difficult world you could hardly do better this year. Go buy tickets because I want more movies like this to be made.
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