As a huge of fan of Jennifer Lawrence, I was very excited to watch this film and it didn't disappoint. Set in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, seventeen-year old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is taking care of her two younger siblings and her mentally ill mother. Her world is shaken up when her missing father does not show up for his court date as a result of getting busted for cooking methamphetamine and put their home up for bond. Essentially, if he doesn't show up, they will lose the house. On a mission to save their home, Ree seeks the help of her uncle Teardrop, who rejects her request at first. Ree then goes to the local drug kingpin and distant family member, Thump Milton, who refuses to see her. One of the strongest aspects of this movie is the level of suspense, and how each scene leaves the audience wanting more.
As the movie progresses, Ree becomes more aggressive in her attempts to get answers from Thump, leading to a vicious beating from Thump's wife and her sisters. Teardrop rescues Ree from Thump's home and convinces him that she won't "cause anymore trouble". Teardrop reveals to Ree that her father was killed because he was going to inform the cops about other meth dealers in the area in return for a lighter jail sentence. With no options, left, Ree tries to join the army, but ultimately can't because she would need to leave her brother and sister behind.
In the most terrifying scene of all in my opinion, Thump's wife and his three sisters arrived at Ree's doorstep offering her the opportunity to get a piece of her father's remains to prove that he is dead to the bondsman. I was blown away by the cinematography in this scene as Ree traveled on the boat across the marshy river in the middle of the night. When Ree had to reach in and cut a piece of her own father's dead corpse, I got chills. It astounded me how indifferent Thump's family, especially his wife, could be to Ree's pain and generally human life. That scene was like something out of a horror film. At the end of the film, Ree is able to prove that her father is dead with his remains and gets to keep the home. Teardrop reveals that he knows who killed her father, which is foreboding in the sense that the audience knows he will go after that person, which will lead to his inevitable demise. Teardrop's fate is highlighted when he plays his dead brother's guitar at the end.
I think this movie is special because it wasn't predictable. Ree's character was definitely heroic, but not in the conventional sense. In the end, she compromised with the people who killed her father to protect her family. I think Ree's character is groundbreaking in the sense that the morality of her actions is not clearly black and white. Ree was put in a difficult decision and she had to do whatever she could with what little options she had. Most people think they know how they would act in a situation like this, but I believe that they would be surprised how differently they would act if it were actually happening. Although I found this film to be terrifying, not in the horror film-esque way, I really appreciated how realistic and simple it was. It challenged me to think beyond a typically idealistic approach.
No comments:
Post a Comment