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06 February 2011

Flicks I've Picked: Winter's Bone

Recently I came to realize that I really don't have a hobby.  For those of you that are saying: "What?!  How could this be?  For I distinctly remember reading this very post about you getting a new hobby.  I believed you.  You lied.  I'm done following your blog.  You suck at life."

To these disgruntled readers I have only this to say:  I did not lie intentionally...and I did the whole money tracking thing for a while...but it didn't really stick.  I'm not closing any doors here, but it's just not something that was a really fun use of my "extra time."  There's always tomorrow.

Anyway, I love watching movies.  Absolutely love it.  I love watching great movies.  I love watching terrible movies.  Just love it.  (But if I'm watching a terrible movie...it has to be on purpose...due to it's terribleness.)  I love to watch movies for one specific actor especially with Brocklee so that we can shout the following at the TV:

"Ghost of Idina Menzel!  RISE UP FROM THE RUBBLE!  We are so friggin tired of naked Salma Hayek and Colin Farrell!"

Anyway...I've decided to be more intentional about the movies I watch.  The first of these was the one for today's post.

Ahem...

Welcome to the new section (among the ever-growing collection of sections) of News From the Liminal State.  This new section is all about movies and is entitled...

[Trumpet Fanfare a la Tim Hardy]

Flicks I've Picked

I feel as if that's a safe name.  It covers all movies that I'll watch...because I will have picked (chosen) to watch them...but doesn't necessarily mean that I would pick to watch them again.

But most importantly, It rhymes.

Last night, I watched Debra Granik's Winter's Bone.  Winter's Bone is not only nominated for the Best Motion Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Writing (Screenplay based on material previously produced or published) Oscars...but it has also already won three times as many film festival awards than Jon and Kate have had kids.  (They had 8 kids right?  I'd assume so from the title of that show...but I never watched it.)  Anyway, that's a lot of awards.

Winter's Bone is the story of 17-year-old Ree Dolly (which I have typed as Dee Rolly two times here and then deleted), a young girl in charge of and responsible for way more than she should be.  Left behind by her meth chef of a father, Ree's every move is made to support, care for, and protect her two younger siblings and her mute mother (driven crazy by husband Jessup's crank cooking).

The movie is essentially Ree's search for her father, the search being spurred on by the fact that, if he misses his upcoming court date, the Dollys' house and possessions will be taken.

Ree wants desperately to find her father...but there are many who are hell-bent against her search.  Jennifer Lawrence (Ree) and John Hawkes (Ree's uncle, Teardrop) definitely win my admiration for their expert usage of subtlety.  The whole movie (except for some moments) is quite subtle actually.  It's an anxious subtle...like when you look at your older dog and you can't tell if he's breathing or not.  It's like waiting for the tiniest inhale or exhale to ensure that he's alive and just sleeping soundly.



If you plan on watching it, do so with subtitles.  The overall subtlety of the movie can make it extremely hard to hear sometimes.  Also know that the movie is disturbing.  I wasn't as disturbed as I thought I would be, given some of the reviews that I read, but the library's DVD skipped an entire scene...and I could tell from the scene after it (and a crying actress in the arms of the director offset after the filming of the scene) that it was the disturbing scene that everyone was talking about.  I got the gist of it from the special features and the tiny snippets that I saw as the DVD was skipping.  Just be forewarned.  The scene is at like 49 minutes.

Anyway, would I recommend it?  Yes, to some.  It is not a movie for everyone.  It is not a family friendly movie (it's rated R for a reason).  Why would I recommend it?  I think that if you want to watch it...it's an important story to watch.  It's an important reality to understand.  Also, I plan on watching it again.  There's a line at the end of the movie...that I will not share with you, of course...that pretty much demands me to watch it again.


It's not as suspenseful as I was anticipating it to be...but there was an added level of creepiness due to the fact that Forsyth, Missouri looks freakishly like my hometown of Bristol, Indiana.  Other than the hills of Forsyth (and the cave from a deleted scene shown in the DVD's special features) I felt as if I was back in Bristol.  And don't get me wrong...if/when you see this movie, you may think that this statement is a negative.  It's not.  I love where I come from.  I love the people.  I love the place.  Love it all.  It was just eerie seeing a story like this take place in a place sort of similar to my hometown (except people never make meth in Northern Indiana...oh wait).

My honorable mention for this movie goes to Lauren Sweetser who plays the role of Gail, Ree's best friend.  Her performance is, for lack of a better word, beautiful.  There's a very natural quality to this woman's work.  From the look of her resume on IMDB, she is a newcomer to the scene, which may be a part of her tangible uniqueness.  I hope with everything that I have that she will continue on in the field and hold on to that freshness.

Also unbelievably amazing (but I don't have the time to really write about them) are the filming, soundtrack, and the general way that that the film was made.  If you watch this on DVD and you don't watch "Making Of Winter's Bone" in the special features...you are missing out more than you know, seriously.

That's all for now, guys.

Stay Classy,
LT

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