OVERALL: Wow. This is a powerful movie. Very well made.

POINTS: Jennifer Lawrence. This is the movie that I personally think was her audition for Hunger Games. It is the story of an Ozark girl trying to hold her family together. Distant mother, absent father, eldest daughter trying to hold family together. Now Ree isn’t Katniss, but wow. Wow!! I am so glad that Jennifer Lawrence, a Kentucky girl, was playing an Appalachian. Brilliant, perfect. The role of Ree, like Katniss, is in her blood. 

PITFALLS: Hmmm….. Ok, when I think of one, I’ll add it.

FEMALE CHARACTER(S): Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. We follow Ree through a journey to keep her family intact. She has to deal with not only legal bureaucracy but also the intricacies of rural hill life and her extended family. It seems in this world that women met out justice to women and vica versa. It is fabulous to watch Ree negotiate and finally receive aid from the women in her extended family. It is quite powerful.

CULTURAL PITFALL(S): Well, none.  This is a movie about Appalachian people in isolated areas striving to life. There is poverty and lack of education and that is life. However what is really nice about this movie is that Appalachian people are not portrayed as evil. Often in movies we see rural folk as being evil. I mean hey they aren’t from New York or LA so they must be bad. Thankfully here in Winter’s Bone there is no negative judgment; there is only understanding. Huzzah.

HIGH POINT(S): The simplicity of the movie. There are no extras in this film. Could be because of conserving a budget, but I hope that it is the skill of the director, Debra Granik, who left everything in the movie down to the bone. (Ok, pun intended.)  

BECHDEL TEST (Website):  3 of 3. Of course.

IMDB:  Winter’s Bone (2010)

OFFICIAL MOVIE WEBSITE:  Winter’s Bone

DVD/BLU-RAY WORTHY: Yes. I do indeed own it. 🙂

LION PAW PRINTS: 4 of 5. Wow.