Winter's Bone

I watched Winter's Bone over the weekend. I was a little disappointed. I don't think my feeling of ennui has anything to do with anything, except that it was a bit over-hyped. It was a very dark look at a group of very dark people. What a way to live. I guess I know that there are the rural poor out there and that many of them turn to things like cooking meth to survive, but wow, that was depressing. It made me wish someone would call child protective services. Those kids needed a meal, a bath, and a real bed. They also needed to not have their relatives beat up their older sister. Even the "good guys" were more than mildly unpleasant.

I was happy to notice 3 character actors from the HBO series Deadwood pop up as various unwashed characters. I guess someone watched Deadwood and thought "gee, those people look like dirty meth heads." Whoever thought that was a bit of a casting genius.

I promised myself that I wouldn't get into another Hunger Games movie post, but it is relevant because this was Jennifer Lawrence's defining role and the one that her supporters point to when trying to persuade us doubting Thomases that she can be Katniss. I certainly won't deny that she did a good job in this movie. There was quite a bit of talking through her gritted teeth, some hunting for survival, and a good amount of beat-down taking. All of that is necessary for a Katniss, certainly. It is as if they were just looking for taciturnity and the ability to look beat-up in a movie and said "There! We can cast her!" I mean, she has basically played the part already, just on a much smaller scale. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Seeing the movie has left me no more or less comforted about what is to come from our Katniss.

My greatest takeaway from this is that I am so glad I have my family and not that one!