Winter's Bone

Granik, Debra. “Winter’s Bone.” (2010)

Jennifer Lawrence (Ree Dolly), John Hawkes (Teardrop),  and Dale Dickey (Merab)

As an adaption of Danielle Woodrell’s 2006 novel, “Winter’s Bone” explores many themes through one 17-year-old journey to find her drug-dealing father. Ree Dolly is forced to be the primary caretaker of her mentally ill mother, 12-year-old brother, and 6-year old sister. She tries her best everyday to make sure they have something to eat, something to drink, all while teaching them basic survival skills because no one knows what tomorrow may bring. Ree’s father, Jessup, has been gone for some time and is nowhere to be found. He’s out on bail following an arrest for manufacturing “crank,” a strong CNS stimulant. Sheriff shows up at her doorstep threatening that if Jessup doesn’t show on his court date, then they will lose the house because it was put up as apart of his bond. Ree sets off determined to find her father, following his footsteps into the world. She encounters many things a typical 17-year-old wouldn’t even think of, such as common drug use, frequent violence, and people who are brought together through loyalty and secrecy. She starts with her Uncle Teardrop, who is addicted to meth and marijuana. She then venture out to find further family and close friends who might be able to help find her father which brings her to their local crime boss, Thump Milton. He refuses to see here and the only information that Ree can come out with is that Jessup dies in a meth lab fire. When he fails to turn up on trial day, a bondsman comes to tell Ree she has about a week before the house is no longer theirs. Ree, who thoroughly believes that her father is dead, swears that she can prove her family passing before the house is gone. Ree tries to see Milton again but is beaten by the women of the family. Teardrop rescues Ree and tells her predators that “she won’t say anything to anyone.” A few nights later, her attackers come by to help Ree, telling her that they will take her to her father’s body. They take Ree out in a rowboat o a shallow area where her “daddy’s bones” lie. They make her reach in to grab both of his hands and they use a chainsaw to dismember the extremities and put in a burlap sack as proof. Ree takes them to Sheriff saying someone flung them on her porch recently.

This film explores many themes, from your ego, to family ties, to being alone and being a female in a man’s world. Ree was a strong protagonist from the beginning. She’s taking the place of mom and dad, for both figures are absent. She further fulfills the father figure by venturing out to find out about her father, enduring physical and emotional pain. Her ego almost consumes her, for at one point in the film. Her neighbors offer to raise one of her siblings to which she quickly shuts down. This was not the best decision in my opinions. However, she’s quickly put back into place as a woman, for many men recognize her courage and remind her of where she stands in comparison to them. Blood is bloods, and typically that means there’s inferred respect. However, in this movie, it seems that family ties don’t mean a thing, for when Ree crosses a line, a relative, like Uncle Teardrop, is quick to choke her and remind her that crossed the line.

The film wasn’t particularly my favorite so it wouldn’t be my first to recommend. Indie film drama mysteries aren’t necessarily my favorite movie genre.