Winter's Bone: Authentic and Astonishing

Throughout my life, I've had the pleasure of being able to interact with diverse and even clashing groups of people. Even at the young age of 22, I've run in a wide crowd and heard many different people talk about many different problems in many different ways and from many different perspectives, problems ranging everywhere from systemic racism to the erosion of constitutional rights. Some of these problems are moral, others are political. And for as much as these injustices need to be addressed, they get a lot of rightfully earned attention from both the media and their consumers. And yet, one big problem in our nation goes sadly undiscussed because it doesn't financially or ideologically benefit any politician or action group to talk about it. That big problem is rural poverty. And this is why I find it so ironic and astonishing that Debra Granik's Winter's Bone, a genuinely fantastic movie about precisely that, never seems interested in trying to call attention to itself in any way. I'm going to list off some words that came to mind while I was watching it.

One word I thought of while watching Winter's Bone was humility. The cinematography of this film is incredibly minimalistic and down-to-earth, never prone to distract from its main character, Ree, and her fight to protect and provide for her younger siblings. This movie wholeheartedly trusts its phenomenal characterization to carry it, and between the fantastic writing and incredible acting, it has every good reason to. Another word I would use to describe the film is decay. Winter's Bone is a striking portrait of rural poverty, the type that seems not so bad to the rest of us when it's out of sight, out of mind, and confined to a place not profitable enough for the rich to talk about, nor prominent enough for the activists to remember. Yet unlike me, this movie is remarkably nonjudgmental. It's more concerned about asking questions than making statements, a rare commodity in an ideological landscape as viciously fought-over as Hollywood.

Another word I thought of while watching Winter's Bone was natural. Again, the acting in this film is some of the best I've seen this year, with Jennifer Lawrence's portrayal of Ree - a young woman with a mentally-ill mother, an absent father, and the unjust responsibility of caring for her family - being one of my favorite acting performances I've seen in a long, long time. Nevertheless, no one performer here attempts to call attention to themselves in any particular way. The cast of Winter's Bone acts more as a cohesive unit than anything else, bringing me to my final word: servanthood. I'm amazed by Ree's commitment to serving others no matter the cost to herself, and not once does she or the incredible movie she's a part of ask to be celebrated by pop culture. Winter's Bone is an amazingly humble film. No, more than that. It trusts itself enough to be modest.

Watching Winter's Bone felt less like watching a movie and more like watching something happen to somebody I know. If I had to find one last word to describe it, that word I would use would be authentic. This movie doesn't try to fly among the clouds of fantasy. It's attempting - wildly successfully, might I add - to drag its audiences back to reality and plant seeds it obviously hopes will spring up into meaningful conversation. It's taken the distance by an absolutely incredible performance from Jennifer Lawrence, the type that makes an actor famous. It's an unforgettable movie about a largely forgotten part of the country, and I think the reason it's going to be so unforgettable for me is that not once does it ever ask to be remembered.

Winter's Bone - 10/10

Matthew 19:16-26