This film, which won the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Festival, reeks of desperation and misery.  Nobody in the film ever truly smiles, except for the youngest of children.  Life is hard, and it is never going to get easier; only harder.  Such is the hand dealt to Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence).  She lives in the Missouri Ozarks with her father (who produces meth for a living), mother (basically catatonic most of the time, between having gone crazy and the medication she is on), and younger brother and sister.  Her father is under indictment for meth production, and out on bond.  So Ree is truly in charge of the family, and sees it not just as necessity but responsibility.  Family blood is a powerful force in her world.

Her father Jessup is missing, and the local bondsman comes by to let Ree know that he’s put their entire property (including their woodlands, the only true asset they hold) up to cover the bond.  If he doesn’t show up for his court date, the family will lose everything they have.  So Ree, who lives by the code her family has taught her (never talk to the police, never say anything about anyone, never ask for what should be offered, and never ask questions) decides she must break those rules, and sets out to ask her various nearby relatives – all in the meth business – if they know the whereabouts of her father.  Despite the danger, and the warnings from those she first approaches, she sees no other option available. 

The film is based on a novel by Daniel Woodrell, who himself hails from the Ozarks.  So everything feels real, and looks real thanks to the direction and screenplay writing of Debra Granik.  Some of the homes look barely habitable, and trash is strewn everywhere.  The landscape is barren, and the sky is gray.  Danger and mistrust lurk around every corner; little eye contact is made, and instead eyes shift constantly.  Food is scarce; Ree makes some deer stew in one scene, and later is shown teaching her siblings how to hunt squirrel.  Despite being a woman, she manages to hide her fear the best she can when facing the scariest members of her extended family.  She is the patriarch, regardless of her gender.  This is her family, and she will fight to save them.

Jennifer Lawrence gives a tremendous performance, and she carries the movie throughout.  It is only how she reacts to each other character which brings them to life, and shows us who they are and how dangerous they may or may not be.  Ree pushes as hard as she dares, but sometimes even she knows when lines cannot be crossed.  And through it all we are reminded that she has committed herself to this family…they are her responsibility to care for, and she’ll make any necessary sacrifice to do so.

Winter’s Bone is not the greatest film of the year, but it is definitely worth seeing.  Look for it; it’s in national release but for the moment seems to be showing only in the art house theaters.