...Wait.
Yeah, that's not happening (yet). Your social media outlets are probably doing the same as mine: People blowing up the feeds with how amazing or mind blowing Inception is. And, while I'm sure it's a great movie and Chris Nolan can do no wrong, I haven't gotten the chance to go out and see it! Instead, I've been a bit of a book worm.
I recently read The Bizarre Truth: How I Walked Out the Door Mouth First...and Came Back Shaking My Head.
It was written by Andrew Zimmern, host of Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods. And in the book, he mentions a valuable life lesson which I think can be applied to just about any aspect of life, including movies.
He talks about how he enjoys dining at four star restaurants as much as any other food critic, but prefers going to places he considers "the last stop on the subway". The eateries in areas a person wouldn't normally venture to, but those which he goes out of his way to discover and enjoy. According to him, some of his best experiences have been from visiting places such as these.
In a sort of similar fashion, this how I ended up seeing Winter's Bone recently. I had been recommended by a fellow movie buff pal of mine, Joey Vee, who works at a theater that showcases a lot of indie films and Sundance selections. It was either that or a film about Joan Rivers, and I'm pretty sure I made the wiser choice that night.
Now, minus him, I haven't heard any banter amongst my friends about this movie. It is basically unknown in the eyes and ears of the normal movie goer, but has been generating great reviews from the critics who have seen it. The hidden gem, so to speak. Just like Zimmern was talking about! I had to see it.
Winter's Bone is based on a novel by Daniel Woodrell. Having grown up in the midwest all my life, the setting for the film was no shocker to me. The film was shot in Missouri, and takes place in an incredibly small town where everyone knows everyone, and 75% of the population is cousins with one another (though dont quote me on my exaggerated statistics!)
That being said, the story focuses on Ree Dolly, a young woman who is living with her mentally ill mother, and has two younger siblings that are 6 and 12 years old respectively. She is trying to raise them and take care of her ailing mother on her own, because her father left their decrepit shack of a home awhile back in a meth fueled rage.
While struggling to get by, she learns that her father has a court date for allegedly being caught cooking meth, and that he put up the family's house as a bond. If he doesn't show up to court, the family loses the house.
From there the plot involves Ree trying to investigate and learn the whereabouts of her father, in order to protect her family's home. She learns several important lessons about family loyalty and the strict rules and ideals that small town people live and die by.
Unfortunately, in small town America, meth, oxycontin, and other drugs is a lifestyle. I hate to say it, but there are counties and areas my friends and I constantly joke about and never frequent because we know it's filled with addicts and junkies living these meager existences.
This element brought a very real, gut wrenching feel to Winter's Bone.
It is even more apparent in the economy and social structure of this film. Everybody is living at the bottom tiers of poverty, scraping by. If you drive anything that isn't a beat up old truck, you're given a weird look. If you want to do something with your life after high school, you enlist in the army. (There is a scene depicting students at Ree's high school, learning how to march and properly hold rifles, which I found particularly interesting). It is frightening to imagine, but ultimately true that the greatest accomplishment for many of these kids is to become disciplined soldiers, to get out of the roach motel that is their hometown and away from the prevalent drug use and town gossip.
There is so much culture in this film, and while it is not culture in the traditional sense, it is a way of life that not all of us have ever been exposed to. It is fascinating, the way these characters speak through backwoods accents, their mannerisms, general attitudes about life, as well as the relationship that develops between Ree, her uncle, and the rest of her "family". The way the mystery of this small town unfolds was great to watch, and the ending leaves you wanting to make conclusions on your own, a great trait of many films in this style.
For that, I give Winter's Bone 4 1/2 stars out of 5.
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