Winter’s Bone
Well, it’s the big day and I’m dragging this thing out to the last minute. Once again life has gotten in the way and I’ve procrastinated. But here I am at the finish line and I can’t think of a better film on which to wrap things up.
If Inception made an argument against expanding the Best Picture field, then surely Winter’s Bone must act as a full-throated argument for it. A small independent film that received little critical attention upon its release, it is a movie that deserves to be seen and its nomination should give it the kind of attention it deserves. I can’t imagine it will win if only because it is so modest, but I have to think this is exactly the kind of film The Academy had in mind when they sought to include a greater variety of films in the Best Picture category.
Winter’s Bone isn’t the first film of its kind. American Cinema’s history is littered with small, exceptional artsy-fartsy films that are overlooked due either to their subject matter, their lack of star power or they fall victim to poor timing. I don’t know why I hadn’t heard of Winter’s Bone until its nomination, but I couldn’t turn on a television without seeing a trailer for Inception last year.
Perhaps its not surprising that Inception has those three elements that Winter’s Bone lacked. John Hawkes does an incredible job as a very shifty man whose character and intentions are slowly revealed throughout the film in an eerie way that leaves you unsure in the end of what he is capable. But he ain’t Leo DiCaprio.
Inception sold itself as a psychological thriller that messed with your mind while providing a healthy amount of action and special effects. All those elements contain mass appeal, but you would be hard-pressed to find someone who wants to lay down eight dollars to hear a story about a back-country hillbilly who skips out on bail after getting busted for cooking crystal meth, putting his home up for the bond, leaving his daughter to care for her catatonic mother and two siblings without a home. What redemption could possibly exist within such a bleak, depressing story? And if we are simply seeing a story of a family thrown out of their home, we might as well take up crystal meth ourselves if only to numb the dull agonizing pain that this story reveals as being just another part of life.
Inception’s makers were both skilled and fortuitous in its release. In these ever increasingly hot summers we find more people flocking to theaters to get out of the heat. Released in mid-July, Inception was able to capitalize on the lack of competition that made up last year’s weak Blockbuster market, gaining a much wider audience. If you only saw one movie at the theaters last summer, I am willing to bet it was Inception.
Released a month prior to Inception, Winter’s Bone is exactly the kind of movie you don’t want to see in the heat of the summer. It is cold and dark, both in subject matter as well as in aesthetics. My mother used to take my friends and me to movies in the summers after we went swimming and then we’d go to McDonald’s. Good family fun. But do you think we would have liked to see Driving Miss Daisy? Fuck no, we wanted to see Ghost Busters 2. Whoever decided to release Winter’s Bone in the middle of blockbuster season either wanted the film to fail, or was too stupid to do his or her job.
But there is redemption within Winter’s Bone and it is well worth witnessing. Like the unappreciated art-house films that preceded it, there is beautiful cinematography that brings out the stark beauty of the Ozarks and its mysterious inhabitants. In its efforts to retain some sense of authenticity, many of the actors traded their wardrobes with the locals and many of the actors were locals. These are always great stories that accompany films of this nature to give the viewer some validation that what they are seeing is the genuine article.
Whether this films strikes a fair representation of the Ozarks or not, one can’t deny the story’s humanity. Characters are hardened, a blanketed quality that must exist in a world that is commonly referred to as the Third World Country within the United States. These people are leery of outsiders and often brutal within their own circles. Hawkes’ character (Teardrop) practically chokes his 17-year-old niece in an early scene of the film and we never are quite at ease that he won’t try it again. His motivations are true to his family, but they are reckless, and in the end, self-defeating.
The main character (Ree) tasked with saving the family land and adjoining woods is equally as cold and sharp-tongued as her uncle, but her devotion to the protection of her family is different in approach, though not necessarily in its ends. Her journey takes her into harm’s way so many times, the viewer can’t help but imagine the horrible things that might happen to a girl of her age in real life. But she goes in stubbornly, unafraid to ruffle what feathers she needs to find her father. We see how scared she is and can only imagine what kind of bravery it would take to overcome these fears.
Christian Bale will in all likelihood win Best Supporting Actor tonight, but mention must be made of Hawkes’ performance (again). An alumni of Deadwood, he has proven to be a skilled and versatile actor whom I think we will be seeing more of in the future. Jennifer Lawrence’s tight-jawed performance of Ree is also worth mentioning and I will look forward to seeing her in future films as well.
If there’s anything bad to be said of this film, it’s that I wasn’t really sure where the arc of the film was. It seemed to resolve itself without you even knowing it, and I wanted to know more about Teardrop. It’s obvious by the end of the film that his days are numbered and his end is left to our imagination with little need for guidance. But it didn’t seem like enough. He crashed in and out of the movie sporadically and it seemed in the end like he was little more than a sidekick to Ree, assisting her for his part when a strong male presence was required. Even writing this I realize I am making a pretty weak argument against this film, but you’ve to play Devil’s Advocate.
So we’ve come to the end of this journey, but this is not the end of our association. Life is long and there’s a lot out there to cover. I haven’t changed my opinion in the past month and I am now more confident than ever that The Social Network will be victorious tonight. It’s been a lot of fun and I feel a little less cynical about the film industry than I did when I started. I didn’t think Hollywood put out ten good films a year, but despite my varying opinions I feel that all these films are at the very least good movies worth your attention.
I am mulling over my next project, but fear not. We will be back together soon. Until next time.
Alouishis