Winter's Bone

The last Best Picture Oscar nominee I still hadn’t seen ended up being one of the weakest contenders, in spite of the hefty material and brilliant performances.

Synopsis: a teenage girl must find her fugitive father before his trial date or her family will lose their house, which he put up as collateral to get bail.  Her search will go up against the principles of her little town omertà-style code of silence, unleashing stonewalling and a hard punishment.

Best Lead Actress Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence gives an impressive performance, flanked by Best Supporting Actor nominee John Hawkes (whose craft I had already admired in the exceptional HBO TV series Deadwood).

Winter's Bone is a very well written story about the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity and can be hard to watch at times.  Having said that, it’s neither a memorable movie nor, I believe, something that will leave a mark.

Grade: 7