Winter's Bone - 3 1/2 smiles

The harsh Ozarks setting of “Winter’s Bone” seems so real that you don’t realize that you’re watching a detective story, full of the requisite suspense and apprehension. But as effective as the setting is, the main character is the reason you’ll remember this film. Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is part of umpteenth-generation mountain folk, whose moonshine stills have given way to meth labs. And her place in this world is a given: she’s a female so she’s supposed to do as she’s told and she’s still a teenager, so what she wants doesn’t matter. Her mother is an empty shell, no longer mentally and emotionally present and she’s left a younger brother and sister for Ree to care for. Ree’s father, Jessup, has disappeared and the sheriff (Garret Dillahunt) is looking for him because a court date is coming up. If Jessup fails to show, he forfeits the house, which he put up for his bail. Not wanting her family to lose their home, Ree embarks on a search that takes her deeper and deeper into her brutal, reclusive community. The men won’t talk to Ree and the women warn her off. But Ree isn’t persuaded to stop her search. She continues to dig deeper into the mystery of her father’s whereabouts.

Lawrence gives a powerful performance, revealing Ree’s tough inner strength and resilience. Ree is quietly heroic as she goes about her search. John Hawkes plays Ree’s uncle, a drug addict and ex-con named Teardrop, who grows from a two-dimensional thug to reveal a man bound by blood with more compassion than one would expect. At one point, Teardrop rescues Ree and helps her to get where she needs to go. “Winter’s Bone” will generate a lot of conversation after it’s over and Ree is sure to be the most memorable character this year. 8/14/10