I added
Winter’s Bone (2010) to my list at Netflix simply because Jennifer Lawrence is its star. At the time I was researching Daniel Woodrell, who wrote
Tomato Red, a novel I wasn’t crazy about, and noticed that one of his others had been adapted to film. Like
TR, WB is set in the Ozarks, specifically a rural area in Missouri. JLaw plays a 17-year-old who must take care of her younger siblings now that her mom, beaten down psychologically by her love for a criminal husband, has gone into a shell. The father puts up their house as collateral for a prison bond and disappears. If he fails to show at a hearing, the family will be evicted. JLaw’s character begins what becomes an often harrowing search for him, facing resistance from most of the community, proponents of backwoods justice. This is a largely quiet, serious, documentary-like portrait of time, place and people. Anyone seeking a traditional thriller dominated by chases and plot twists should pass. I was riveted, the sense of menace palpable. It has the same downbeat, grimness of
Tomato Red, but it is not devoid of hope, as that novel is. It has a character at its center that strives to do good despite long odds. The best sequence has her speaking to an Army recruiter. She is willing to sacrifice herself for a $40,000 signing bonus that would keep a roof over her family's head. The dialogue between the two is sincere and realistic and does not demean either, so rare in Hollywood fare that touches on the subject of military recruitment. To my surprise, the film was direct by a woman, Debra Granik, who adapted the screenplay with Anne Rosellini. Since then, Granik has done only a documentary. She deserves more work. The film received four Oscar nominations: Best Actress, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor. John Hawkes, a familiar face whose name I did not recognize, is chilling in his role. This was Lawrence’s 10th credit. She was 20 at the time, the third youngest nominee for Best Actress. My hunch is she will be one of the all-time greats. The film was only modestly successful financially, made for two million, bringing in six. Again, this is for those who appreciate serious work. 94,000+ users at IMDb rate it 7.2 of ten. On a scale of five, I rate it four.
The incomparable Hondo, the
NY Post’s satiric handicapper, has come up with another gem, striking two birds with one stone, stating that CBS will soon be offering a new series:
NCIS: NFL.
Are the Giants that good or the Redskins that bad? Big Blue actually looked like a contender last night. Are the offensive woes truly history? Stay tuned.
It was a rather quiet day at the floating book shop. My thanks to Kinesha and Lev, who bought five books between them, to the woman who bought the medical manual, and to the one who donated three books. I had a visit from Hans, aka Mr. So Do Ku. He flipped through his new IPOD, showing me the Rubik Cube-like images he created, which he hopes to turn into a book. 78, he is at a stage where he is constantly wondering what comes next, if anything does, although he does believe the universe was created and not merely a glorious accident.
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Web Site:
http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
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