Winter's Bone -- Film Review

Slow to get going and uningratiating, the film will be a hard sell at the boxoffice, but its grit and the tenacity of its young heroine will resonate with some viewers.

That heroine, a high-schooler named Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence), faces a crisis much like that in "Frozen River": A man, in this case Ree's father, has vanished owing debts that put her home in jeopardy. With two younger siblings and a barely-sentient mother to care for, her only option is to scour the backwoods, searching for Dad among the not-distant-enough relatives who (literally and figuratively) litter the county, and whose criminal operations likely have something to do with his disappearance.

"Bone" doesn't supply the same kind of role for Lawrence that Melissa Leo got in "River": Ree's options, stop or keep going, are less dramatic than Ray Eddy's even when continuing her search means talking to volatile people with things to hide. For much of the film, as Ree feeds the family with hand-me-down groceries and teaches the kids to hunt squirrel, Granik seems to believe it's impressive enough that she simply continues to survive.

As the action picks up -- with some crone-like family gatekeepers giving Ree a beating in hopes of scaring her off -- the strong presence of John Hawkes (as the vanished man's drug-addicted brother) keeps the bleak setting from overcoming the movie and gives Lawrence a bit more to play against.

Eventually, even when she's being controlled by events instead of vice-versa, Ree proves worthy to the challenge around her. Whether she'll escape her grim surroundings or simply endure them isn't a question "Winter's Bone" intends to ask.

Venue: Sundance Film Festival
Production companies: Winter's Bone Productions and Anonymous Content
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Kevin Breznahan, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt, Sheryl Lee, Lauren Sweetser, Tate Taylor
Director: Debra Granik
Screenwriters: Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, novel by Daniel Woodrell
Executive producers: Jonathan Scheuer, Shawn Simon
Producers: Anne Rosellini, Alix Madigan Yorkin
Director of photography: Michael McDonough
Production designer: Mark White
Music: Dickon Hinchliffe
Costume designer: Rebecca Hofherr
Editor: Affonso Goncalves
Sales Agent: Josh Braun
No MPAA rating, 99 minutes