{"id":1315,"date":"2010-09-05T10:57:08","date_gmt":"2010-09-05T09:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/?p=1315"},"modified":"2010-09-26T23:24:51","modified_gmt":"2010-09-26T22:24:51","slug":"winters-bone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2010\/09\/05\/winters-bone\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter’s Bone"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Winter's Bone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\nFormat:<\/B> Cinema

\nDate:<\/B> 17 September 2010

\nVenues:<\/B> Curzon Soho\/Renoir\/Richmond (London) and nationwide

\nDistributor:<\/B> Artificial Eye

\nDirector:<\/B> Debra Granik

\nWriters:<\/B> Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini

\nBased on the novel by:<\/B> Daniel Woodrell

\nCast:<\/B> Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Dale Dickey

\nUSA 2010

\n100 mins\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Winter in the Ozark Mountains. Timber-framed houses litter a rust-coloured landscape, the yards full of abandoned cars, washing machines, years of accumulated junk. In this incestuous community, where the families are all linked by blood ties and a terrifying patriarch is king, Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is trying to raise her two younger siblings, while her mother, mentally locked inside a world of her own, barely acknowledges their existence. And then the sheriff arrives: her father, who cooks meth, is missing ahead of a court appearance. If he skips the hearing, their home, posted as bond, will be seized. But when Ree tries to find him, there’s no one who will help - instead, she’s chased off people’s property, threatened, and taught the hard way not to interfere in other people’s business. <\/p>\n

Directed by Debra Granik and based on a novel by Daniel Woodrall, Winter’s Bone<\/I> paints a portrait of a remote community mired in poverty and drug addiction. These are people who have fallen through the cracks, who live by a different set of laws and deal out justice with their own hands; the women, protecting their loved ones, are even more sinister and ruthless than the men. It’s a gripping film that reminds the audience that there is a world far away from Hollywood or the bright lights of New York, or even the majestic Midwest that usually stands in for rural Americana. Chillingly authentic, this is a place that few outsiders will ever see.<\/p>\n

But the film’s biggest assets are two terrific performances. Lawrence, in her mud-stained, ill-fitting clothes, her hair knotted, exudes grace and a rough, unvarnished beauty (she’s already been cast in both an upcoming Jodie Foster-directed film and the next X-Men movie). She’s completely convincing as the foolishly brave 17-year-old who is determined to ensure her family’s survival, with no money, no job and little hope.<\/p>\n

Another surprise is John Hawkes, who plays Teardrop, her father’s brother and a violent, unpredictable addict who belatedly tries to do the right thing by Ree. Although he was endearing in films like Me and You and Everyone We Know<\/I>, if a sometimes surprising love interest, here his craggy features and thin, worn-out frame blend perfectly into the landscape; he’s a man ravaged by abuse, who’s been given one last shot at redemption. <\/p>\n

But the deeper Teardrop and Ree dig, the more tangled things get. Meth - using, selling or supplying - has corrupted the whole community, including the law, and a father who first appears to be the story’s villain may not be such a bad man after all. But even Ree is finally forced to accept that rough justice is the only way to protect what little community she has. <\/p>\n

Granik’s film is part social realism, part mystery and part tragedy. But as bleak as it sounds, Winter’s Bone<\/I> has a special quality that makes it an unmissable film, and deserving of the Grand Jury Prize that it received at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. <\/p>\n

Read Debra Granik’s text on the closing shot of Werner Herzog’s Stroszek<\/I> in The End: An Electric Sheep Anthology<\/I><\/A>, to be published in November 2010.<\/div>\n

Sarah Cronin<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winter in the Ozark Mountains. Timber-framed houses litter a rust-coloured landscape, the yards full of abandoned cars, washing machines, years of accumulated junk.
\nReview by Sarah Cronin<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[133],"class_list":["post-1315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-check-it-out","category-cinema-releases","tag-american-cinema"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/purUP-ld","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2829,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2013\/05\/02\/billy-liar\/","url_meta":{"origin":1315,"position":0},"title":"Billy Liar","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"May 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Billy Liar is a film for underachievers, that shows what is means to grow up intelligent, imaginative, semi-educated and bone-idle. Review by Paul Huckerby","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"billy liar","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/billy-liar-594x323.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/billy-liar-594x323.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/billy-liar-594x323.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1756,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2011\/06\/23\/cutters-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":1315,"position":1},"title":"Cutter’s Way","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"June 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Cutter's Way is a kind of sunset noir, a dark tale bathed in a golden West Coast glow. Review by Mark Stafford","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/review_Cutters-Way-594x588.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/review_Cutters-Way-594x588.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/review_Cutters-Way-594x588.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":305,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2008\/03\/01\/diary-of-the-dead\/","url_meta":{"origin":1315,"position":2},"title":"DIARY OF THE DEAD","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"March 1, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Zombie king George A. Romero returns to the sub-genre he created, with gripping if somewhat predictable results. Review by Lindsay Tudor","rel":"","context":"In "Cinema releases"","block_context":{"text":"Cinema releases","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/cinema-releases\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":579,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2009\/04\/01\/naked-lens-beat-cinema\/","url_meta":{"origin":1315,"position":3},"title":"NAKED LENS: BEAT CINEMA","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"April 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Jack Sargeant's Naked Lens is a unique exploration of the relationship between the Beat Generation and the medium of cinema, and the early influence of the literary movement on American independent film. Review by John Berra","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1200,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2010\/06\/01\/the-vice-guide-to-film-mexican-narco-cinema\/","url_meta":{"origin":1315,"position":4},"title":"The Vice Guide to Film: Mexican Narco Cinema","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"June 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Smith travels from Texas to Tijuana, on the way doing a great job of putting Mexico's ultra-violent Narco Cinema of drug runners, fetishised cars and bad cops in context. Review by Alexander Pashby","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/review_NarcoCinema-594x445.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/review_NarcoCinema-594x445.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/review_NarcoCinema-594x445.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1675,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2011\/05\/16\/fritz-langs-indian-epic\/","url_meta":{"origin":1315,"position":5},"title":"Fritz Lang’s Indian Epic","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"May 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The result is one of the most deliriously unreal slices of cinema that it's ever been my pleasure to witness. Review by Mark Stafford","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/review_Lang_DER_TIGER_VON_ESCHNAPUR-594x417.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/review_Lang_DER_TIGER_VON_ESCHNAPUR-594x417.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/review_Lang_DER_TIGER_VON_ESCHNAPUR-594x417.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1315"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1341,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1315\/revisions\/1341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}