So, I remember hearing so much about this darn movie at last last year's Oscars and thinking it looked horribly depressing. I decided to finally give it a try after there was nothing good at the Redbox and wanting to see if Jennifer Lawrence really deserved all the nominations she got for the role. It's (supposedly) the lowest grossing film to be nominated for Best Picture since 1983. It was released in about 140 cinemas back in June of 2010 and has brought in about $13 million (surpassing it's $2 million budget).
The movie stars Jennifer Lawrence, as Ree Dolly, a 17 year old girl who lives in the Ozark Mountains and takes care of her two younger siblings and mentally ill mother while her father is out on bail from some drug charges. She learns that if her father skips his court date, they will lose their house. She sets out to find out where her father is to prevent this from happening and must endure some of the craziest and harshest things imaginable - especially for a 17 year old girl.
The plot is taken from a book. The book must be pretty well written, because the plot feels quite genuine and very interesting. From the trailer, I thought the movie was like True Grit - surviving in the wilderness and snow etc. Thankfully, it's not. That's probably what kept me from seeing this before. The movie is very much grounded in reality and Lawrence's character gets little to no special treatment in this movie because she's a girl. She still gets beat up, but it's by the women characters instead of the men - which makes it ethical, right? I liked how the plot wasn't just about Lawrence's character setting out in search of 'the truth. She had to still take care of her responsibilities at home and she had to look past 'the truth' and just get what she needed to save her house, and in turn her family. She had to put aside her feelings for her father and just get what she needed. The plot really draws you in, even in the bleak and depressing setting. There's something about Lawrence's strength that gives you a glimmer of hope even if she's destined to stay there for awhile.
I'm going to assume that the locations the movie were shot at were genuine. If not, it was some amazing set design. There was no beauty to be found in the locations. The beauty came from the characters and plot. In fact, the wardrobe and locations were there as a constant reminder of just what kind of world they were living in.
Okay, okay. Jennifer Lawrence deserves the accolades for this role. Anyone who learns to skin a squirrel on camera deserves some sort of award in my book. She gave an unflinching performance and used subtle reactions and facial expressions to really bring out the dramatic scenes, i.e. the boat scene. She had a natural sounding accent and showed her emotions in the right place, instead of just playing is stone cold as in some of this hard-knock-life movies. I also really enjoyed John Hawkes' performance. I just saw him in Martha Marcy May Marlene and he's definitely on a roll. He was able to transform his character in this movie to show that first appearances are not always right.
The movie is quite depressing and bleak but somehow it's still very interesting and you can't help but love Lawrence's character. She doesn't have this blind sense of chivalry - she just needs to save her house or they'll all be out on the street. It's definitely a plot you don't forget. The cornerstone of the movie is Lawrence's performance. "You don't ever ask for what oughtta be offered".
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