August 31, 2010 -- I got tired of the usual Hollywood junk that keeps rolling into town and trucked down to the Lyric Cinema Cafe in Fort Collins. There, they have the most comfortable chairs, best food and drink and some of the best art house movies around this area (along with the Kress Cinema in Greeley). I went to see “Winter's Bone,” a film I knew nothing about, except that it had gotten very good reviews from other critics. I can see why it got good reviews. It is a gritty, suspenseful movie that is so realistic it feels like a documentary.

Winter's Bone explores a world foreign to most people, the clannish, secretive world of the Ozark Mountain people of Missouri. Watching this movie, I could have sworn it was depicting people living in the Appalachian Mountains. I've heard of the Ozarks, of course, a vast, 47,000 square mile region covering parts of Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma, and touching Kansas, but I'd never seen life there depicted on film so vividly. This film depicts a small, remote area of the Ozarks, inhabited by some interrelated families. It depicts a harsh life, with people surviving on squirrel meat and money produced by meth labs.

Ree Dolly (played by Jennifer Lawrence of “The Burning Plain”) a 17-year-old woman (this is no mere girl) is left in charge of her household in her father's absence and because of her mother's feeble mind. She takes care of her younger brother and sister. Life is tough enough for the impoverished family, but things take a turn for the worse when Ree finds out her father has put the family's house and other property up for bail to get out of jail. When he doesn't show up for his court hearing, the Dolly family discovers it will soon be evicted and homeless, unless Ree can find her father soon.

Ree embarks on a dangerous journey among drug users, drug dealers and drug makers to try to find her missing father. She is told to stop looking for him by people who really mean business. She is rescued and joined in her quest by her uncle, Teardrop (John Hawkes of “Miracle at St. Anna”) a formidable man who strikes fear into the hears of everyone, including Ree. Both Ree and Teardrop are threatened by menacing drug trade players as they delve deeper into the mystery of what happened to Ree's father. The danger becomes more intense as they get closer to the truth. Although grim, this story is as much about love and family bonds as it is about anything else. It is also about true heroism and the power of the human spirit to overcome hardship and fear. Ree and Teardrop have only their intelligence, courage and each other to rely on in their perilous journey.

This movie is a real tour de force for writer-director Debra Granik. This is the best movie I've seen this year and it will make my top 10 list for this year. The cinematography by Michael McDonough (“New York, I Love You”) is starkly realistic. The acting by Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Dale Dickey (an actress who plays Ree's memorably tough relative Merab) and the rest of the cast, is utterly convincing. The music, especially the traditional down home session with singer and music consultant Marideth Sisco, is lovely and haunting. The locations in Missouri evoke a true sense of a world apart. The gritty realism of this film and its depiction of people living on the edge of society reminds me of the 2008 film “Frozen River.” This film rates an A.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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