I walked past this poster in the tube the other day and was instantly intrigued (yes, I do tend to judge books and films by their cover, shame on me) and turned to Sam: “That looks interesting, have you heard anything about it?” (it’s pretty great to be married to a walking film encyclopedia). Of course he had, and he’d only heard good things about it, so yesterday we went to see it.
Apparently people have been going crazy about the low-budget Winter’s Bone at Sundance and everywhere else. And rightly so. It’s based on a book by Daniel Woodrell and set in the remote Ozarks Mountain Country. Here a poor 17-year-old girl embarks on a gruelling journey to find her meth-cook of a father, before “the law” can take away the family home and land from her, her two young siblings and mentally resigned mother.
It’s harrowing honest and visually stunning in all its simplicity. No over-the top visual effects and 10 layers of make-up here. This is all about the story/message and the acting is remarkable. The bluegrass soundtrack is pretty awesome too.
Enough said, now go see it.
Winter’s Bone official site (with trailer)
Photos courtesy of Sebastian Mlynarski
Mette Bassett 