View Full Version : "Winter's Bone"?
I picked up a couple movies today. One, "Debt," and the other "Winter's Bone". I think we'll watch the "Debt", but after looking up "Winter's bone" and reading all the reviews on the Imdb, it sounds like a very "noir", depressing movie, although acted very well.
Has anyone seen it and what did you think of it?
Saw it and know some of the people in it. Filmed near here. It's worth seeing. (Please note that we are all not backwoods drug types here in the hills of Missouri).
I netflixed it a few months ago. It was very good acting, a decent story, and not hugely Hollywood. Too dark for my tastes. I think I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.
Great film, shot in my state. It is indeed noir. There is a pretty horrific scene as well as several scenes that are hard to take as it's about people who live on the edge in rural Missouri. It was nominated for an Academy Award, which surprised me because it was a "little" film. Jennifer Lawrence, the young woman who plays the teenager who has to hold her family together, was universally applauded by critics.
I thought Winter's Bone was a great film. In my opinion it was far, far better than The Debt which I found to be extremely formulaic.
Winter's Bone is not a fun film but I thought it was beautifully acted, directed and written and it resonated with me long after I saw it.
Thank you everyone! I had thought about you Float On, since I think you live in the Ozarks, right?
Iris Lily..........the horrific scene you mentioned........is it gory? I have trouble watching violence with gore. I've read that the acting was superb. I'm not sure I'm in a good place to watch an excessively dark film though.
Thanks for your input everyone.
[QUOTE=CathyA;65385]...Iris Lily..........the horrific scene you mentioned........is it gory? QUOTE]
Yes. A dismembered body part features prominently in the plot.
Thanks for the warning, IL.
Actually, I've just discovered that the parent's guide to movies on the Imdb is a good place to find out exactly what one might see in a movie that might bother some.
Actually...........I found another site that is even more inclusive in what one might find offensive in movies. Its called kids-in-mind.com. It spells out exactly what gore/violence one might see. I'm sensitive to some types of violence and gore and don't like surprises in movies. So its good to know these various sites are out there to check before I see a movie.
I saw Winter's Bone a while ago and really liked it. It is quite dark but I thought there were some kind of sweet scenes, too. The way the older girl took care of her little brother and sister and mentally ill mom and how they took in stray animals despite being so poor they had to eat squirrel meat....it was very touching. And the little kids were super cute. I didn't feel depressed by it.
I haven't seen "Winter's Bone," but, living in Israel, of course I LOVED "The Debt!" Yes, it was formulaic. But hey, who can go wrong with Helen Mirren playing a Mossad agent Nazi hunter? Super cool!
I really liked Winter's Bone. I thought the two main actors (the teenager and her uncle) were great. I didn't get a "noir" sense about it though. I actually thought it was kind of uplifting.
I think I'll watch it, since I know what scene to close my ears and cover my eyes with. I don't want to pass up a quality movie because it has one or two bad scenes in it. When I was young, I had a phobia of getting my hands cut off which made life unbearable for a number of years..........so you can maybe understand my reluctance to see much of that going on!
Some people find no use for depressing/slow movies. But I've always appreciated them, if done in a quality way.
Yes, CathyA, I'm in the Ozarks. I'm in Branson and most of this was filmed in my county one town over in Forsyth. The cabin is actually up in Green County just north of Forsyth. The stockyard filming was either in Nixa or Springfield, I forget. The lake scene was Bull Schoals Lake. The lady that does some of the singing has a neat radio program called "These Ozark Hills" on the NPR station out of Springfield.
Just curious Float On........were you bummed when they turned the wilds of the Ozarks into Branson?
Despite the Branson "strip" - the whole area is still beautiful and scenic. Really only a very small part of it is touristy in my opinion, and some of that is alot of fun - good food and great music. Branson has a "feeling" in my opinion, that I like. We go there about once a year, usually in the fall - it is just beautiful. We live just about 3 hours away.
I really loved the movie.
And I love the ozarks too. I lived in AR from age 9 to 18, and spent a lot of time in the Ozarks. :)
Branson has changed a lot over the years but you can be "in the wilds" just 10 minutes away from the strip. I love where my house is and the fact that I can be kayaking in less than 5 minutes. I wouldn't like living on the north side of Branson but love it on the south side.
Wildflower, since you come down here on a regular basis you know the scenic overlook on 165? Thats very close to my house.
hey Floaton, I was in Branson last October (or was it November?) on the way to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Love Eureka Springs! Branson, not so much. But to be fair we entered Branson at night and didn't ever really get our bearings. Ended up eating at a horrible Chinese restaurant, and staying at an entirely mediocre though passable Holiday Inn. I think it was a Holiday Inn anyway, they all run together in my mind. It was built on a funky hill and had some step challenges for our doggies.
It was raining when we arrived and raining when we left the next day so my vision of the place isn't great. I read each and every brochure for entertainment and shows and there wasn't one that I found appealing.
In the daylight, in sunny weather, I presume Branson shows off better.
I used to spend a fair bit of the summer in and around eureka springs. it's awesome there. i also really loved hot springs arkansas, and would go there as often as I could, too.
It sounds like a wonderful place. As long as you're not living in "Winter's Bone". ;)
Sadly many people do struggle like in Winter's Bone. The area is built on tourism not industry. Many families struggle on two seasonal $8 an hour jobs. There are a lot of 'haves' and 'have nots'. I get calls daily from people looking for food, money for gas or utilities or rent. I would also say 'meth charge' is either in the paper or on the news daily.
I finally saw it last night. I thought it was made very well. I need to watch it again, as I got confused alot with the male characters. They all looked alike to me!
I was expecting beautiful scenery, but it was very bleak, since it was winter.
So many dogs!
What a strong character the girl was.
I really was worried about the hand thing, but it was very minor in the show.
curious how obnoxious most of the husbands were, and how controlling........yet the women ended up doing what they wanted to.
I'm glad I watched it. Good Independent film.
I was just wondering if you'd watched it or not CathyA. Thanks for reporting back.
It is a very good movie, but I found it to be depressing. I probably could have lived w/o seeing it. But I have a very low tolerance of gore/violence and I was pretty much OK with it. Seen worse.
Isn't that near Fayetteville?
Fayetteville is where one of my fave authors, Ellen Gilchrist, lives. Also, if you've ever read anything by Crescent Dragonwagon, I think she lives in Eureka Springs. Is that where the movie was filmed?
I used to spend a fair bit of the summer in and around eureka springs. it's awesome there. i also really loved hot springs arkansas, and would go there as often as I could, too.
Spoiler Alert - don't read on if you haven't seen it.
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I've sort of been in an emotional slump lately and feared that the film would make it worse. But it didn't. I guess there are different types of "depressing" and this one seemed very tolerable for me. There wasn't much emotion in it. Like they didn't show the relationship of the girl and the father before he died and so we didn't really feel the loss.....except when she would look over his clothes a couple times. it was pretty emotionless to me.
Maybe the difficulty of just plain living didn't allow for alot of emotion, other than anger. The women definitely showed more emotion than the men, who seemed to just show anger, until the end, when the uncle softened a bit.
It was curious to me that the one woman could offer the girl a drink, and yet tell her to get the hell off their property. And then later throw coffee in the girl's face and beat her up.........yet eventually helping her get what she needed (proof of her father's death). Seemed like there were strong women, yet at times they were totally in fear of their husbands.........but then eventually did what they felt they needed to do.
I did really like the cinematographic style.
Isn't that near Fayetteville?
Fayetteville is where one of my fave authors, Ellen Gilchrist, lives. Also, if you've ever read anything by Crescent Dragonwagon, I think she lives in Eureka Springs. Is that where the movie was filmed?
Fayetteville is a few hours away. Winters Bone was filmed outside of Forsyth, MO and a little further north in Green County as well.
And yes, Crescent was in Eureka Springs, she and her late husband ran the Dairly Hollow Lodge which was one of the first B&B's in the Eureka Springs area. It did have a restaurant. They turned it into a writer's colony and the non-profit may still exsist there but she moved on to Vermont not long after he passed 2000.
I watched it again today and liked it alot. It was nice watching it a second time because I could figure out who was who, use subtitles when I couldn't understand them, and spend more time looking at the cinematography.
I actually watched the chainsaw part and thought they did an excellent job of not using it for "yuk" value. Good film.
Crescent Dragaonwagon is the daughter of--someone. Some author of children's books. She and the mom had a major falling out, if I remember the lore correctly. I could Google that.
I went to Eureka Springs last fall and I love the historic town with all of those great victorian houses.
Agreed, Winter's Bone would have been better with subtitles. I'm watching MANY things with subtitles these days, given my hearing as well as odd accents in some productions. Deadwood has American accents but the dialog is so odd and interesting and, well, wordy that I catch more with subtitles on. But your average sitcom, no need for subtitles.
Deadwood has American accents but the dialog is so odd and interesting and, well, wordy that I catch more with subtitles on. But your average sitcom, no need for subtitles.
Interesting huh?
Calamity Jane: Maybe I will have a ****in' drink, for sociability's sake and
'cause I'm a ****in' drunk.
Joanie Stubbs: What's your preference?
Calamity Jane: That it ain't been previously swallowed.
or
E.B. Farnum: Some ancient Italian maxim fits our situation, whose particulars escape me.
Francis Wolcott: Is the gist that I'm **** out of luck?
E.B. Farnum: Did they speak that way then?
I'm just glad subtitles are available on DVDs! I seem to have an especially hard time with thick English accents. I would prefer to watch the movie without them, but am sure glad to have the option, when I can't understand what the heck they're saying!
Interesting huh?
ha ha ha,egad I love Deadwood! I just finished Season 2 and the last episode was fabulous!
That EB, I just want to slap him. Jane is not my favorite character, she's a little over the top. I love the entire production, there is no one who is weak.
ha ha ha,egad I love Deadwood! I just finished Season 2 and the last episode was fabulous!
That EB, I just want to slap him. Jane is not my favorite character, she's a little over the top. I love the entire production, there is no one who is weak.
Told ya!
rosarugosa
12-31-12, 8:33pm
Thread resurrection: I borrowed a bunch of movies from the library this weekend and had the good fortune to get Winter's Bone, which has been on my to do list since I read this thread. It was fantastic! Thanks for the great tip!
I was just thinking about watching it again. Good movie. I'm glad you liked it rosarugosa!
I liked Winter's Bone. Helps me to remember the various ways that people do live, and do process emotional material. It isn't all expressive.
Crescent Dragonwagon is Charlotte Zolotow's daughter; Zolotow wrote children's lit, pretty good stuff. Dragonwagon's cookbook (or more than one) was a favorite of mine until I decluttered my cookbooks, only keeping Laurel's kitchen and Joy. I loved her descriptions of her inn as well as her directions for making soup and bread.
Yes, this sounds like a pretty rambling response to some of the above. Must be a function of the day...
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