And The Loser Is... #8- Rural pains

There is a long history in American cinema of stories about the struggles of rural life. From classic films set against the back-drop of the Great Depression, to New Hollywood's treatment of the changing landscape, stories about poor rural folk have played a prevalent part in shaping American film. Over the last decade or so, it seems that a new rendering of the theme has emerged, one which takes the classic story of the struggle to survive off the land, and introduces the element of crime usually associated with films with an urban setting. The film that immediately springs to mind is Lance Hammer's excellent 2008 offering, Ballast, in which a black youth living on the Mississippi Delta turns to drugs after the death of his father. You could possibly trace the roots of this sub-genre to the Coen brothers, who have always had a fascination it seems with the merging of small-town mentalities with big city crime. No Country For Old Men is a classic example of this. British cinema even has their own version of this, Shane Meadows' haunting Dead Man's Shoes (2004), which tells the story of a soldier looking for revenge against a gang of drug-dealers, all set in a small town in the English countryside.

The film I'm talking about today may well go down as the canon example of this type of film- Debra Granik's Winter's Bone (2010).

Granik's second feature was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar at the 2011 awards, and is a great argument for the success of the return to 10 best picture nominees. It's hard to see a film like this breaking through under the old system of 5 nominees. Set in a poor town in the Ozark Mountains, this indie drama focuses on 17-year-old Ree Dolly, a girl who, with an absent father and clinically depressed mother, is the head of her family, which also includes her two much younger siblings. Ree is told at the beginning of the film that her father, Jessup, is due in court, and that if he doesn't make the hearing, the family will lose their land. Ree vows to find Jessup, despite knowing the dangers of digging too deeply into his world. Jessup, you see, is involved in the local drug trade, and is a manufacturer of crystal methamphetamine.

One of the most striking things about the film is the contrast between the male and female characters. It is very much made clear that this is man's world, and yet the men are generally on the periphery of the story, lurking in the shadows, voiceless, but extremely dangerous. In fact, the most important man in the film, Jessup, is never shown on camera.

For every man that Ree must visit in her quest to find her father, that is a woman that she must talk to first. The women are the go-betweens, doing a lot of the dirty work. But they do nothing without the express permission of their man. This is established early on, when Ree visits a friend to try to borrow her husband's truck. When her request is turned down, Ree asks why she always does what her husband tells her. Later on, Ree tries to get a meeting with the head of operations, Thump, but is met instead with his woman, who warns Ree not to get involved. When Ree returns determined to see Thump, the woman tells her that she was warned, and "puts a hurting on her".

Lawrence and Hawkes: Oscar-nominated.

Ree herself is free from the whims of men, because the only man in her life is her little brother. But it is clear that she had instilled in her the fighting spirit that goes along with her family's name and reputation. She confesses to having always been scared of many of the men that she must meet with, but she does it anyway in her quest for the truth. One of these men is Teardrop, her uncle, played with menace by John Hawkes, who was Oscar-nominated. Teardrop, like all the men in the film, is mysterious, soft-spoken, but capable of sudden fits of violence. However, he clearly also cares for his niece, and wants her to succeed in her mission. During their first meeting, he outright refuses to help her, lunging at her violently (while his wife passively watches on) when she continues to pester him. When he returns later, though, it is to get Ree out of a tough situation with Thump, and he pledges that he will take responsibility for any of Ree's future actions.

Jennifer Lawrence was also Oscar-nominated for her portrayal of Ree, and it is one of impressive skill. Dogged and proud, and with a sharp tongue that you fear will get her into serious trouble, Lawrence also inbues Ree with a vulnerable side, which adds pathos to her journey. In one scene, she tries to join the army for the signing on fee, but when she is told that the money wouldn't come straght-away, and that she wouldn't be able to take her family to training with her, we see her fighting back the tears, trying to finish the interview with dignity.

Apart from anything else, it is the setting which makes the film stand out, and the dichotomy between rural pursuits like cattle auctions, and wood-chopping, with talk about meth labs. The characters never lurch into hillbilly stereotype (although one scene featuring a bluegrass singalong at a birthday party pushes it), but the milieu makes things feel fresh and different to your typical crime thriller. Granik's naturalistic style also works well to accentuate characterisation and setting over action.

This is the first of the 2011 Best Picture nominees I've seen, so I can't speak for how it ranks alongside its competition. But, if the others show this quality, I'll be happy. 4 stars.

I have another new review coming in ATLI... #9. Until then, here's looking at you.