Musings on Winter's Bone (and Why You Should See it Immediately)
Ashlee Thompson as Ashlee, Jennifer Lawrence as Ree Dolly and Isaiah Stone as Sonny in WINTER’S BONE, directed by Debra Granik. Photo Credit: Sebastian Mlynarski
When we checked the Oscar nominations last week, we were as surprised as anyone to see the four nominations for indie favorite Winter's Bone.
The film sold out every showing when it played last spring at SIFF; we vividly remember the lines of film-goers waiting out in the cold rain to see it. Winter's Bone eventually won two Golden Space Needle Awards at SIFF, and Seattlest's own Amy Mikel also conducted this fantastic interview with director Debra Granik after the close of the festival. Winter's Bone was co-written and produced by Seattle native Anne Rosellini, who co-founded the 1 Reel Film Festival and was a festival programmer for SIFF.
We've been thinking a lot about Winter's Bone and we're still amazed that a film like this is being recognized by the Academy. It's certainly not for lack of quality. The film is one of the most poignant reminders of the effects of meth on rural communities. It's also a pretty damn hardboiled detective story that absolutely smolders with tension until the very end. The now Oscar-nominated performances by Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes are both more than worthy, and we're happy to see John Hawkes in particular receive some overdue credit after playing so many great roles over the years.
The actual surprise comes when you take a look at all of the other nominations at this year's awards show. Almost every nomination in the best picture category has a big star, budget or director. Winter's Bone stands out, in contrast, because of its lack of polish and cash. It's a gritty, amazing, low-budget gem, forms that that don't often get recognized, and we for one are happy to see a film like that finally get its due at the Oscars.
If you're interested in seeing Winter's Bone before the Oscars (and you absolutely should) it's out and available on DVD (and Blu-Ray!) and looks to be available with no wait on Netflix (if that's how you roll).
