Film Analysis - Winter's Bone (2010)

Film Analysis:
Winter’s Bone (2010) - Directed by Debra Granik
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes and Garret Dillahunt

This film is an Independent Drama set in Missouri, USA that looks at the struggle and battle of the lives of the people who live in poverous conditions in the area. The protagonist, Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) and her families life depends on the disappearance of her father. The film touches on the bond between family and even unites them upon it, the gracious deed of aiding one own family becomes a large part of this films narrative and helps the protagonist reach her conclusion. The poverous state the film is set in acts to give the audience a sense of empathy towards the characters, the drama that the characters face in their lives is beyond what most of the audience would experience as it can become a element of life or death, the struggle of where the next meal is going to come from or whether they will have a place to live tomorrow. This film explores themes of family, struggle, endurance, independence and mystery.

From the beginning of the film we, the audience, immediately become attached to the protagonist Ree as those around her are seen as being very dependant on her. Without the use of any dialogue, the film uses visual clues such as the placement of Ree and her family around the house, to show us that she is clearly the one with the most power in the household. She is made to look after her siblings and her sick mother at such a young age meaning that she has gained a lot of unwanted responsibility. Her independence and surge in power in the film over most others makes her likable, she is very fierce and strong which allows her to achieve and strive the things that she does in the film. Key elements of the narrative are placed very cleverly by the filmmakers in the film in order for the audience to clearly understand the overlying dilemma in the film. The environment that the film is set make it immediately obvious that they are living in some form of poverty and therefore cannot afford to survive on less than they already have. This allows the audience to realise that the only resolution in the film is for Ree to gain more than she has, especially once the news of her fathers bonds is given to her. This allows her character’s arc to develop and form a path from poverty to achieving success to take place.

This film skyrocketed the actress Jennifer Lawrence into the limelight, following this film, she gained much recognition and suddenly became very popular among the film industry. This independent film’s vibe and premise allowed her to demonstrate early on that she cannot be type cast. Many of her other roles, even in tentpole films, show that she can deliver a varied performance with the same level of passion and realism that she did in Winter’s Bone. This was a very key film in her career so far, and will surely benefit her as she progresses.