Winter's Bone (2010)

An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact.

Director:

Debra Granik

Writers:

Debra Granik (screenplay), Anne Rosellini (screenplay),

Stars:

Jennifer Lawrence, Isaiah Stone, Garret Dillahunt

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 49 wins & 61 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Lawrence	...	Ree
Isaiah Stone	...	Sonny
Ashlee Thompson	...	Ashlee
Valerie Richards	...	Connie
Shelley Waggener	...	Sonya
Garret Dillahunt	...	Sheriff Baskin
William White	...	Blond Milton
Ramona Blair	...	Parenting Teacher
Lauren Sweetser	...	Gail
Andrew Burnley	...	Baby Ned
Phillip Burnley	...	Baby Ned
Isaac Skidmore	...	Baby Ned
Cody Brown	...	Floyd
Cinnamon Schultz	...	Victoria
John Hawkes	...	Teardrop

Storyline

With an absent father and a withdrawn and depressed mother, 17 year-old Ree Dolly keeps her family together in a dirt poor rural area. She's taken aback however when the local Sheriff tells her that her father put up their house as collateral for his bail and unless he shows up for his trial in a week's time, they will lose it all. She knows her father is involved in the local drug trade and manufactures crystal meth, but everywhere she goes the message is the same: stay out of it and stop poking your nose in other people's business. She refuses to listen, even after her father's brother, Teardrop, tells her he's probably been killed. She pushes on, putting her own life in danger, for the sake of her family until the truth, or enough of it, is revealed.

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Plot Keywords:

court | bail | neighbor | money | mentally ill mother | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some drug material, language and violent content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [de]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 September 2010 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Lazos de sangre

Filming Locations:

Branson, Missouri, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£126,865 (UK) (24 September 2010)

Gross:

$6,531,491 (USA) (15 April 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anonymous Content, Winter's Bone Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the stars (including Isaiah Stone, Ashlee Thompson, and William White) and most of the extras are from the Forsyth, MO area, and had never acted before.

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Goofs

When Ree is talking to Teardrop in the pickup truck at night, Teardrop is not smoking. The camera cuts back and forth quickly between Ree and Teardrop several times with no smoke, and suddenly the camera cuts to Teardrop and we see the smoke of a cigarette coming from out of the frame.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ree: [waking her] Ashlee Dawn...
Ashlee: Hmmm?
[to her brother]
Ashlee: Wake up...

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Connections

References Boyz n the Hood (1991)

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Soundtracks

"In Memory of the Four Winds"
(2000)
Performed by Steve Peters
Courtesy of Steve Peters

User Reviews

Winter's Bored

OK, starting off, you see my star rating for this movie? That rating means I thought this movie has a few good points and, *gasp!*, a good deal of bad points. And I'm not a cinema elitist who disregards every blockbuster ever made and thinks every indier-than-thou flick is by default great. I rate films out of honesty, and this is what I honestly think of Winter's Bone.

First off I can't deny this film is gorgeously shot. There's some great and nifty camera work in the movie and the scenery is just pure eye candy. I loved the opening shots and ominous, dark tone... and then the characters started talking. Seriously, the dialogue is so overblown and tacky. I was laughing at pretty much 80% of the lines spoken in the film. How this was up for Best Screenplay is against me.

What very little plot there is relies on the protagonist being ten times as stupid as the characters in most movies today. It's about a girl at risk of losing her home searching for her father. What feels like an hour of the film is devoted to silent footage of the protagonist walking through the woods. If you cut half of the "walking through the woods" out, the movie would be an hour long. And again, there was a lot of buildup but NO ENDING... it just ends.

The actors do a pretty good job given the script, but this film is a massive bore. I don't even think hobos with shotguns could save this film. I honestly don't get all the praise this gets.