Winter's Bone (R)
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This is based on a book that I haven't read. It's one of those movies where I feel the need to point out that the quality deserves a higher rating than I give it. The movie received a lot of critical praise, and deservedly so. I think it's also the first thing I heard of Jennifer Lawrence starring in, and she received a lot of praise, too. Once again, deservedly so. And of course she quickly went on to star in much more popular, mainstream movies. So, anyway, I've wanted to see this ever since it came out, in 2010, but I didn't see it until 2014. I'm glad I finally saw it, but I can't imagine ever wanting to watch it again. The entire movie is terribly bleak and depressing, though at the same time I started out finding it kind of boring, until eventually I got more and more despondent, and then more and more pissed off at most of the characters. And then it just gets disturbing. And then immensely disturbing. Finally, things end... I can't say happily, but I guess as close to happily as would be possible, in a story like this. I'd kind of describe the film as "backwoods noir."

Anyway, Lawrence plays 17-year-old Ree Dolly, who has to take care of her mentally ill mother, and her younger brother and sister. Their father, Jessup, is a meth cooker, whom we never actually see. Ree is informed by the local sheriff that her father had put up their property as part of his bond, and if he doesn't show up for his court hearing, Ree and her family will be evicted. They're barely surviving as it is, and there's just no way they could survive without the house. So, she starts asking everyone she knows if they've seen her father, and no one can help. In fact, most of the people she talks to are assholes. The first person she talks to is her uncle Teardrop, who at first seems to be an asshole, but later in the film he turns out to be a relatively good guy. She also talks to her friend, whose name I never caught. But aside from those two people, almost everyone sucks. So, Ree gets more and more desperate to find her father, and it starts to seem like he may have been murdered. So, it seems the only way to save their home is to prove he's dead, but there doesn't seem to be any way to find his body.

And I don't want to reveal any more of the plot than that. It is a well-made movie, but just one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen.