This Gritty, Unforgettable Noir Remains One of Jennifer Lawrence’s Best Movies

The Ozark winter is alive and chilling in Winter’s Bone. Shot on location, the frigid, grey Missourian winter is practically a character itself, and you can feel the wind cutting your skin through the screen. A pre-famous Jennifer Lawrence treks through woods and faces methamphetamine gangs to find her father, wanted dead or alive, and it remains one of the best films she’s ever made. Marked as the thriller that introduced Lawrence as a serious leading actor in Hollywood, it changed the trajectory of her career for good.

Debra Granik directed the noir-thriller at a time when female directors breaking through into the mainstream were still hard to come by, but the low-budget independent film proved to be a hit. It garnered four Academy Award nominations, including one for Lawrence, and won the Grand Jury Prize’s Dramatic Film Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Notably, Granik did not receive an Academy Award nomination for direction, despite the film’s acclaim. But, Lawrence’s harrowing performance of a gritty, underdog heroine gifted audiences with a complex, coming-of-age film. From day one, Lawrence proved that she was a needle in a haystack, and luckily Granik found her.

What is ‘Winter’s Bone’ About?

Winter’s Bone is set in the backwoods of the Ozarks during its coldest months. Based upon the novel written by Daniel Woodrell, the movie takes place during the darkest, most brutal season among the elements. Lawrence stars as 17-year-old Ree Dolly, and she takes care of her two much younger siblings, her mentally ill mother, and the house they’ve grown up in. Sherriff Baskin lets her know that her missing father, Jessup, has to show up for his court hearing. If he doesn’t, they will lose their house, as he put it up for bond to make bail. A meth cooker running with a dangerous local methamphetamine gang, her father has brought trouble to their doorstep. Ree becomes determined to track down her father.

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John Hawkes co-stars as Ree’s uncle and her father’s brother, Teardrop, who is a loose canon waiting to explode; but he comes to help his niece find her father. Dale Dickey plays the wife of the town’s head crime boss, Merab, and is a force to be reckoned with as a vile matriarch protecting her husband, Thump. Ree refuses to go quietly, despite the code of silence that everyone in the Ozarks adheres to. Merab becomes a terrifying predator as she and her gang rein down violence upon Ree. To their surprise, the 17-year-old has a grit that cannot be sanded down.

‘Winter’s Bone’ Established Jennifer Lawrence as a Serious Actress

Winter’s Bone introduced Jennifer Lawrence as a serious actress, tackling a grueling, intense role at such a young age. While the entire film received acclaim, much of the praise focused on Lawrence’s performance. Prior to starring in the film, Lawrence only had a few minor roles, and was a series regular role on the network sitcom, The Bill Engvall Show. Winter’s Bone was a major departure for her after playing an unruly, silly teen on the sitcom. Interestingly, she almost didn’t get the part. Casting and Granik believed she was too good-looking, and wouldn’t be believable as an Ozark teen barely scrapping by among the real-life locals cast in the film. Lawrence spoke to Variety about the audition process:

“The first two were good, but then they said I was too pretty for the role so they said ‘No.’ I was really upset about that so I flew on the red eye to New York, which, for the record, will take care of that, no problem. (laughs) So I showed up with icicles in my hair and was borderline psychotic. The rest is history.”

Lawrence wowed critics and stunned audiences as Ree. A persistent teen and vicious fighter, Lawrence disappears into portraying a wood-chopping, impoverished teen. Going head to head with violent criminals in town, Lawrence also holds her own against established character actor, John Hawkes, at such a young age. Already containing that buzzing electricity of a live wire that would eventually win her the Best Actress Oscar for her chaotic, whirlwind performance in Silver Linings Playbook, she is just as commanding at every turn here.

Lawrence Became the Second-Youngest Best Actress Oscar Nominee at the Time

At the 2010 Academy Awards, Lawrence became the second-youngest Best Actress nominee in the history of the ceremony, at just 20-years-old. Lawrence was nominated alongside Hollywood heavyweights Natalie Portman, Annette Bening, Nicole Kidman, and Michelle Williams. She lost to Portman, who won for her role in Black Swan, but gained a star-making moment thanks to her dramatic arrival to the Oscars, her stunning, Calvin Klein red dress, and her vicious acting clip that was shown while Jeff Bridges presented the nominees.

The clip that was shown for Lawrence occurs in the aftermath of being beaten to the point of losing a tooth, now being held hostage by the people her father cooked meth with. Lawrence’s toughness itself bleeds through the scene, and she has got a commanding swagger to her. Not an ounce of the soon-to-be Hollywood star is there. Lawrence is near unrecognizable, with a bare face, puffy jacket, and perfect southern drawl. The role of Ree Dolly is significantly different from the roles she would go on to play. Known for larger than life personas in American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook, or most recently, No Hard Feelings, she is quiet and reserved as Ree, oppressed by the elements and its people, with little life coursing through her veins. It is, without a doubt, an unforgettable role.

‘Winter’s Bone’ Was Shot On-Location, In the Brutal Ozark Winter

Winter’s Bone was shot on location during the Ozark winter across 25 days on a small budget of 2 million dollars. It went on to make 16 million dollars at the box office thanks to its thrilling, terrifying central mystery, lead performances, and stunning exploration of a withering away town that feels tangible. Part of the reason the film feels so raw and authentic is that it featured real Ozark natives and musicians, including the little girl who plays Lawrence’s little sister. It was also filmed in real houses and bars within the area. Granik revealed the realistic production design of crumbling homes and former meth labs was thanks to a local man that lived in the area, who scouted locations and procured various props for them. Via NPR, Granik said: “The fate of this film was tied to a local fixer, if you will, or guide… His name is Richard Michael, and he sort of paved the way for us to make it happen…”

Michael also spoke to NPR about his experience working with the film as a Missouri native: “I’m a bus driver, boat captain and a pretty good liar…I did feel like I was sometimes the translator between hillbilly and New York… The landscape here in the Ozarks, there’s something special about it. It just becomes part of who you are.”

Lawrence discussed with Variety what it was like shooting on location, and interacting with the people of the Ozarks, “By the time we got there, Debra had given them books and explained to them that we weren’t trying to put them in a negative light or a positive light. We were just trying to tell a story about a girl who lived there… I think just the hours and the temperature, it was very physically grueling. I mean, really, it wasn’t fun. It was cold!”

Debra Granik Directed an Understated, Brutal Feminist Masterpiece

Lawrence comes alive in the Missouri wilderness, in her army boots, dirty hair, and gruff brawn. A Kentucky native herself who grew up riding horses and rough-housing with her brothers, Ree came natural to Lawrence as a courageous, free spirit herself. One of Lawrence’s most harrowing scenes comes when she is attacked unexpectedly. Lawrence’s screams are visceral as she’s cornered by the meth gang. She hollers like a wild, wounded animal, as the women involved with the town’s criminal enterprise torture her, beginning when Merab throws a cup of hot water in her face. At Winter’s Bone center, Granik made an understated feminist masterpiece, focusing on women characters, both good and evil.

Alongside Lawrence’s tour-de-force performance as a girl fighting to survive among the misbehaving, violent adults in her world, actresses Dale Dickey, Sheryl Lee and Lauren Sweester all command the screen alongside her. Each one carries their own harrowing stories that have settled visibly on their faces. Granik put women’s voices at the forefront of the violent thriller, leaving the men on the sidelines. It still remains Lawrence’s most intense and darkest role, exhibiting a maturity well beyond her years in an unforgettable coming-of-age film wrought with brutality. But Ree herself is also brutal, thanks to Lawrence’s instinctive force behind everything she says and does, refusing to go quiet into the Ozark night.

Winter’s Bone is currently available to stream on Kanopy in the U.S.

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