Family Values in Ozarks

Director: Debra Granik
Writers: Debra Granik (screenplay), Anne Rosellini (screenplay) 
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Garret Dillahunt

Winter's Bone is a 2010 film that depicts a young woman's determination to keep her family together. Caught almost literally between a rock and a hard place, Ree Dolly’s (Jennifer Lawrence) life in the brutal yet beautiful Ozarks, an unyielding stretch of south-western Missouri, is one that would test the hardiest teenager. Her father’s only bankable skill is his ability to cook meth and he’s long gone, leaving her to care for her glassy-eyed, emotionally hollow mother and her younger brother and sister. His court date is due, and if he fails to make good on his bond and show up at court, they’ll be homeless and left to suffer. This sends Ree on a treacherous journey filled with boldness, beatings, and druggies in order to find her father and restore the security of her family's home.

       One important theme is one we discussed in class. "Norms" and "Taboos". An evident norm in Ozarks is that everyone minds their own business and things are kept on the hush. Also, women don't seem to really have a large voice here. Ree breaks these norms when she goes around looking for information on her father, Jessup's, whereabouts. She goes door tapping and searching for dangerous men by herself searching for answers. This even earns her a good beating once. When she does this she is performing a "taboo", or going against the norms. This film really exemplifies this theme.

       Addiction is part of the scenery in Winter's Bone as well. Almost everyone in the little mountain community is smoking or snorting something. When Ree confesses to a neighbor that her father was cooking crank, the woman replies, "They all do now. You don't even need to say it out loud." Drugs are so pervasive that offering them has become a common backwoods courtesy, like bringing food to a sick neighbor. After Ree's uncle, Teardrop (John Hawkes), balks at helping her, his wife presses a joint into her palm and apologetically tells her, "Here's a doobie for your walk." Little Arthur, her father's pal, turns her away completely. "You want a line?" he asks. "You want to blow some smoke?" She doesn't. "Then I guess we got nothing for you! Go on!"

     Overall, most movies of such cultural crisis will call up a hero who can, with sharp shooting, cleverness, and relentlessness, overcome the villains. The hero’s motivations and convictions are usually forgettable the story’s just an excuse for wild stunts and spectacle. Thoughtful storytelling and character development are a surprising bonus if they occur at all, but Ree’s a far more human hero, distinguished by her selfless courage. Her actions are about identity, not excitement. Nothing here happens for the sake of a gratuitous thrill. Everything is rooted in Ree’s love for her family, and this was the most enjoyable part of the film for me.