Painful to watch, which I guess is the point. Unflinching portrayal of a cruel, bleak world, with a dogged protagonist whose strength, stoicism, and love for her family stands out as a beacon of humanity and decency within an otherwise irredeemable society.
Jennifer Lawrence delivers a fantastic performance and the aesthetics/tone of the film were haunting - even, at times, beautiful. Admittedly, I didn't enjoy watching it - the subject matter is heavy and there's not really any sense of hope to cling to. But that comes down to my personal tastes rather than some flaw within the film.
Having lived in southern Missouri for several years, I can vouch for the authenticity of the "background" of this movie, even though many people can't imagine anywhere in America being "like that"! Very well done.
This is one of those movies that get overrated because there is nothing wrong with it. It's not a stupid movie, it's not badly made, etc. But half way through I realized that nothing interesting was going to happen and I was just waiting for the movie to end, so that I could move on to something else.
An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl, Ree, hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact.
The Film:
What will you feel if your father went missing? What if his absence, his mistakes puts your family in trouble? How far would you go to save your loved ones?
After watching Winter's Bone, my honest opinion was that the film was simple, it had a straightforward narrative. The film never boasts anything. But what makes Winter's Bone special is that you forget it's a film. You escape into the characters, into the universe of this film. There are no thrills, no surprises nor any chilling moments. But in my view no film has ever come so close to realism and I salute Debra Granik for taking this step. It's cinematography is quite cold and bleak. It kind of makes the film a little hopeless with Jennifer Lawrence as the only ray of hope...
Winter's Bone is a powerhouse of ingenious performances. It's hard to believe that some of the actors were local who never even knew acting. Another amazing thing is that it leaves some mysteries unsolved for the audiences so that they revisit this film often. Can't believe that it says so much by showing so little...
The most important thing about Winter's Bone is that it's about hope, it's about restoring your trust in humanity. Won't go into details much but if you love realistic, mysterious, slow but subtly powerful films then you are in for some treat. A beautiful bleak and haunting piece of art....!
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did, I think it was due to the fact that it felt so unlike most other films I've seen. The pacing was certainly different, and I found the cold realism strangely captivating. It's a film I could definitely rewatch.
That being said, I can understand how some people might find it boring and anticlimactic.
The setting/characters in Winter's Bone recall those of Dogville. Both films gave me the same meandering, spooky feeling where a small set seemed to contain an entire world. And even if the story could not technically be considered as magic realism, the atmosphere was somehow otherworldly and therefore created almost the same effect. Five months after having seen it, I still think back upon the production and get the chills.
WB is a very solid 8. Even if you don't particularly like it, for whatever reason, there's no real substantial criticism to be made when you compare it to most of the other crap that's coming out these days--both indie and blockbuster.
This is why JLaw is one of the better (best?) young actresses today. She did an amazing performance, and led us through the movie flawlessly.
It's somewhat true what Wargasm stated:
quote:
This is one of those movies that get overrated because there is nothing wrong with it.
Although I found the movie really interesting, I think you need to like a certain type of slow movies to enjoy this, but again, there is nothing wrong with this movie.
I know nothing about these communities, but watching how everything was portraited, I felt somewhat sick. It kinda felt like watching someone being punched, over and over again, without being able to turn around, and I guess that is the point.
very similar character role to Katniss Everdeen, J-Law is also here the protective sister and whose mother is weak! She also hunts to feed her family.......Nevertheless she delivers a very strong performance which paves her way into who she is now! bravo
A brilliant and fascinating portrayal of a truly ugly way of life with a bad-ass central character. Jennifer Lawrence gives one of the best performances I've ever seen from someone so young.
So unique and with such a strong atmosphere. I can't think of any movie like this... Truly amazing. Anyone who says this is 'overrated' cant take such a slow but still strong film.
Add your comment
Comments 1 - 15 of 34
peggypotts
Painful to watch, which I guess is the point. Unflinching portrayal of a cruel, bleak world, with a dogged protagonist whose strength, stoicism, and love for her family stands out as a beacon of humanity and decency within an otherwise irredeemable society.Jennifer Lawrence delivers a fantastic performance and the aesthetics/tone of the film were haunting - even, at times, beautiful. Admittedly, I didn't enjoy watching it - the subject matter is heavy and there's not really any sense of hope to cling to. But that comes down to my personal tastes rather than some flaw within the film.
groveryleather
Having lived in southern Missouri for several years, I can vouch for the authenticity of the "background" of this movie, even though many people can't imagine anywhere in America being "like that"! Very well done.Yahel_Avelsnik
i would like to call this movie a country-noir movie no matter how strange it soundsWargasm
This is one of those movies that get overrated because there is nothing wrong with it. It's not a stupid movie, it's not badly made, etc. But half way through I realized that nothing interesting was going to happen and I was just waiting for the movie to end, so that I could move on to something else.Filmsthemostbeautifulart
An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl, Ree, hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact.The Film:
What will you feel if your father went missing? What if his absence, his mistakes puts your family in trouble? How far would you go to save your loved ones?
After watching Winter's Bone, my honest opinion was that the film was simple, it had a straightforward narrative. The film never boasts anything. But what makes Winter's Bone special is that you forget it's a film. You escape into the characters, into the universe of this film. There are no thrills, no surprises nor any chilling moments. But in my view no film has ever come so close to realism and I salute Debra Granik for taking this step. It's cinematography is quite cold and bleak. It kind of makes the film a little hopeless with Jennifer Lawrence as the only ray of hope...
Winter's Bone is a powerhouse of ingenious performances. It's hard to believe that some of the actors were local who never even knew acting. Another amazing thing is that it leaves some mysteries unsolved for the audiences so that they revisit this film often. Can't believe that it says so much by showing so little...
The most important thing about Winter's Bone is that it's about hope, it's about restoring your trust in humanity. Won't go into details much but if you love realistic, mysterious, slow but subtly powerful films then you are in for some treat. A beautiful bleak and haunting piece of art....!
4.9/5
Synanceiidae
So unique and with such a strong atmosphere. I can't think of any movie like this... Truly amazing.MattJRumble
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did, I think it was due to the fact that it felt so unlike most other films I've seen. The pacing was certainly different, and I found the cold realism strangely captivating. It's a film I could definitely rewatch.That being said, I can understand how some people might find it boring and anticlimactic.
devilsadvocado
The setting/characters in Winter's Bone recall those of Dogville. Both films gave me the same meandering, spooky feeling where a small set seemed to contain an entire world. And even if the story could not technically be considered as magic realism, the atmosphere was somehow otherworldly and therefore created almost the same effect. Five months after having seen it, I still think back upon the production and get the chills.WB is a very solid 8. Even if you don't particularly like it, for whatever reason, there's no real substantial criticism to be made when you compare it to most of the other crap that's coming out these days--both indie and blockbuster.
Rohit
Deserves to be on more lists.Zolex
This is why JLaw is one of the better (best?) young actresses today. She did an amazing performance, and led us through the movie flawlessly.It's somewhat true what Wargasm stated:
Although I found the movie really interesting, I think you need to like a certain type of slow movies to enjoy this, but again, there is nothing wrong with this movie.
I know nothing about these communities, but watching how everything was portraited, I felt somewhat sick. It kinda felt like watching someone being punched, over and over again, without being able to turn around, and I guess that is the point.
10/10
Malena
very similar character role to Katniss Everdeen, J-Law is also here the protective sister and whose mother is weak! She also hunts to feed her family.......Nevertheless she delivers a very strong performance which paves her way into who she is now! bravoChaz
A brilliant and fascinating portrayal of a truly ugly way of life with a bad-ass central character. Jennifer Lawrence gives one of the best performances I've ever seen from someone so young.baraka92
Anticlimatic.Kobrakai
Certainly one of the better movies I've seen this year.Synanceiidae
So unique and with such a strong atmosphere. I can't think of any movie like this... Truly amazing. Anyone who says this is 'overrated' cant take such a slow but still strong film.Showing items 1 – 15 of 34