Winter's Bone (2010) R - 3½ Stars

I love Lionsgate films especially when they use a cast of unknowns. Jennifer Lawrence is one hell of a young actor. She's cast perfectly as Ree and she totally sales the role as does everyone. You really get that "Deliverance" type of feeling peeking into the lives of "white trash" living deep in the Ozark woods. Lawrence touches your heart in her desperate situation to take care of her family.

Sheriff Baskin (Garret Dillahunt), just told 17 year old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) , that her house is about to be taken away. Apparently her father put the house up against a bails bond and now he's skipped out on a court date. Ree's grown up in this extremely poor part of the Ozark woods and has no idea where her strung out mom Victoria (Cinnamon Schultz), younger brother Sonny (Isaiah Stone), and little sister Ashlee (Ashlee Thompson), will end up. She determined to track her drug addicted father down before they take away the land.

Others living in the Ozark woods, including kin, are not pleased with Ree coming around asking questions. You know they know something but they aren't going to tell. None of them including Gail (Lauren Sweetser), Merab (Dale Dickey) and Sonya (Shelley Waggener), want to have her snooping around. Ree takes a beating and the only reason she's not dead, is she's family. Uncle Teardop (John Hawkes), comes to her rescue and tires to convince Ree her father's blown up in a one of the many methamphetamine labs in the woods. Ree doesn't want to accept that answer and needs to learn her own truth.

Awards include:
2010 - L.A. Film Critics Association - Best Actress - Runner-up
2010 - National Board of Review - Breakthrough Performance

Roadside Attractions
Director: Debra Granik
Writers: Anne Rosellini, Debra Granik
Producers: Anne Rosellini, Alix Madigan-Yorkin

I viewed 12/10