[Film Review] - Winter's Bone

I've always been a big supporter of Hollywood films. They tend to get a bad reputation for being stupid, full of flash but no substance. I think it'd be hard to make a case against that claim, but that doesn't mean major Hollywood films aren't enjoyable. In fact, I have loved many major Hollywood films.

Having said this, I do think the Indie market is where films that have a chance to make a difference are being made - the kind of movie that moves you to something other than fantasizing about making out with Hollywood's latest beefcake. My love of a good Rom-Com aside, I do think that film should be used as a medium to tell a real story. Not necessarily to make a political or moral statement, but to help the audience to understand the story of someone else's life.

I recently watched Winter's Bone which won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance in January, and was released on DVD in late October. It is based on the novel of the same name. It is a beautiful, subtle, heartbreaking, heroic story of a 17 year-old Missouri girl named Ree Dolly who is the acting matriarch of her family. Her father - who got tangled up in meth cooking a long time ago - is gone and left Ree's two younger siblings and ill mother in Ree's care. When the sheriff arrives and tells Ree that her daddy used their house as bail, Ree seeks out her father to make ensure her family gets to keep their home; which is about the only thing they have in the world.

In a recent interview, Jennifer Lawrence (who you might recognize from TBS's The Bill Engvall Show) spoke about how it's hard for a young woman, particularly a blond, to find a role with any substance in movies. Jennifer Lawrence has surely made a name for herself with this role. She gives a riveting, silent performance. Ree is a modern day heroine, less a teenager and more a strong, independent woman who will do anything necessary to protect the people she loves.

Winter's Bone is absolutely a must-see movie. The performance's are stunning (particularly Jennifer Lawrence as Ree) and the score is haunting. There are few movies of this caliber our there today.

View the trailer: