Now this is how you make a movie. I find it strange that this movie most likely had about a quarter of the budget (if not less) of Dark Shadows, or at least what they paid Johnny Depp to star in that terrible film. But yet this movie is ten times better than that over decorated piece of poop. It doesn't rely on special effects, over the top action, or a budget that could finance a small nation, instead it relies on the old, time tested material of storyline and characters.
One of the best things about Winter’s Bone, and one of the reasons I didn’t see it when I first heard about it, was it's simple premise: a daughter tries to find her father, so he can show up on a court date or they are going to lose their house. There’s something about simple story lines that scare me. They are so easy to mess up and become some pretentious art film, where imagery tries to mask any resemblance of a story line or narration thus leaving me not caring anything for the main character or the story line being told because I can tell the writer and director didn’t have faith in their own story line, so why should I care about it when all they care about are images and interpretation. Simple story lines are hard to get right, because to do so the writer and the director must have faith in the characters and the story. What I mean by that is that the writer and director must believe enough in the story and character to let them unfold on the screen and not replace them with pointless imagery or arty film school moves. Luckily the writer and director of this film, Debra Granik, has enough faith in her story line and main character to let them unfold in front of the audience without the use of cheap gimmicks. It’s all the better for it because this movie is so economically sound that everything works in its favor.
It also has to be said that Granik has found the perfect actor to portray her main character, in Jennifer Lawrence, who embodies this seventeen year old character with such life that I almost forget I was watching her play a character. Her character seems that real and her plight to find her father just grows as the movies goes on that I wanted her to find her father because I had become so invested in her, what is essentially, a quest movie . I’ve got hand it to Granik, she is patient and belief in the story shines with confidence. Because as the movie begins there’s not a lot of dialogue, instead there's an abundance of imagery, but not the kind of imagery where everything has be interpreted. These are visuals that help to tell the story. She lets the visuals tell the story of this character and these aren’t pointless arty visuals. These are the kind of visuals that show what is going on and help the viewer to engage with the main character. Everything about Jennifer Lawrence character is set up with those shots.
Granik also lets the set design of everything act as a character in the movie, as they fully enhance every scene giving a lot of weight to what is going on. There’s a lot to be said by using location shooting over sets, especially when the sets used only enhance the story line and not distract from it. The simplicity of this movie just amazed me. Simplicity is the best thing ever. This film is simple throughout, but that simplicity masks a complication that’s pumped under the surface of the film. Because as the film goes on we begin to see the more complicated things going on, as the main character also sees them going on. Despite all the cruelty lurking under every rock and under bush Lawrence's character knows she has to journey on to find her father, or she’s going to lose her house. This is a fact that’s constantly bubbling under the surface of every scene and provides the believable motivations of the Lawrence’s character to find her father, and it helps the viewer to sympathize with her with a deservedly earned sympathy. I didn’t think there was anything cheap about this movie. It earned everything I invested into and it’s a perfect way to spend a night watching a movie.
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