The film I’m taking a closer look at today is highly regarded receiving no less than four Oscar nominations and stars none other than Jennifer Lawrence. It’s a gritty piece too, so without further ado here’s my Winter’s Bone blu-ray review.
- Winter’s Bone (2010)
- Genre: Drama/Thriller
- UK Rating 15
- Discs: 1
- Released By Artificial Eye
- Blu-ray Released: 13 August 2012
Plot
Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) lives in the rural Ozarks Mountains of Missouri along with her ill mother and younger brother and sister. With her father missing she is informed that he has secured the family home as part of his bond. If he fails to show up on the allotted court date the house will be sold from under them. With Ree in effect running the house and looking after the family she sets out to locate him. Unfortunately the local community are a strange lot and don’t seem to want to help, could it be they know more than they are letting on?
Style / Direction
The film is directed by Debra Granik with the cinematography side of things that’s taken care of by Michael McDonough. The look of the film is somewhat bleak which is in keeping with the storyline and this approach certainly feels right.
The film received four Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Music / Audio Effects
The music is composed by Dickon Hinchliffe and has a sort of Deliverance sound and feel to it.
Acting / Characters
Jenifer Lawrence delivers a strong and powerful performance as teenager Ree Dolly and one that sees her prepared to do anything to save the family home for her mother and younger brother and sister. In fact she has the weight of the world on her shoulders, not knowing which way to turn at times. It’s this performance that is the key to the success of the film which is intensely dark and gritty.
This is one of those films in which you are never really sure who you can trust, well to be honest none of them appear to be trustworthy. This also helps to increase the overall tension and keeps you guessing.
Cast
- Jennifer Lawrence as Ree Dolly
- John Hawkes as Teardrop Dolly
- Dale Dickey as Merab
- Garret Dillahunt as Sheriff Baskin
- Lauren Sweetser as Gail
- Shelley Waggener as Sonya
- Kevin Breznahan as Little Arthur
- Ashlee Thompson as Ashlee Dolly
- Tate Taylor as Mike Satterfield
- Cody Shiloh Brown as Floyd
- Isaiah Stone as Sonny Dolly
Conclusion: Winter’s Bone (2010) Film Review
I can certainly see why this film garnered so much attention, it’s the type of film the Academy Awards tend to reward. That said despite all the plaudits from the critics I found the film hard going and the ending far from satisfying. I can appreciate the acting, the look and style and most of the plot but something I can’t put my finger on fails to make this film as compelling as others seemed to find it.
Winter’s Bone is not a film I find myself wanting to re-watch anytime soon and that’s fine, after all there are many movies I love I could say the same about but as I mention earlier I never truly became engrossed in the plight of Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) the way I felt I might have or should have been. With that said Lawrence is superb and carries the film well. Despite some negative points in my critique I would still say it’s worth a look and I’m glad that I’ve finally gotten around to watching it.
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Conclusion: Winter’s Bone Blu-ray Review
The film came out in 2010 so there are no issues in regards to picture quality. On the extras front there’s plenty to see however the making of feature that lacks any narration and mostly shows scenes being shot. It is a little hard going for a 47 minute feature and I really do believe it should have been edited into a little feature with narration. That said it might be useful for any budding filmmakers out there.
Extras
- Making of Winters Bone (47 mins)
- Deleted Scenes (11 mins)
- Alternate Opening (1 min)
- Hardscrabble Elegy Featurette (3 mins)
- Trailer
Winter’s Bone (2010) Blu-ray
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Popcorn Cinema Rating: Winter’s Bone (2010)
MOVIE RATING: WORTH A LOOK
BLU-RAY RATING: EXCELLENT
EXTRAS RATING: GOOD
Winter’s Bone (2010) Trailer
For those of you yet to see the film I’ll leave you with a little taster…
Clip not be representative of the blu-ray version
That’s Winter’s Bone blu-ray review, if you have any thoughts on this film you can leave a comment over on our Facebook page.
Summary: Winter's Bone (2010) Blu-ray Review
Movie title: Winter's Bone (2010)
Duration: 100 mins
Director(s): Debra Granik
Actor(s): Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt, Lauren Sweetser, Shelley Waggener, Ashlee Thompson
Genre: Drama, Thriller
- Movie Rating
- Blu-ray Picture Rating
- Extras
Summary
A dark and gritty thriller that sees a truly remarkable performance from Jennifer Lawrence.
Pros
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Dark & Gritty
- Excellent Cinematography
Cons
- Hard Going At Times
