I use the latter part of my summary to refer to a blunder, not the favored slang of adolescent boys comparing themselves in the high-school john. After allowing the flood of 'Best of 2010' lists naming "Winter's Bone" within their rankings to subside, I finally sat down and watched the film to make my own determination. While the specter of hype stood in the back of my mind, I tried to assess as little predetermined expectation as possible. The result? A film with a generally unsympathetic heroine, some sporadically gripping moments (thanks in large part to the setting and cinematography), and a persistent ambiguity that frustrates rather than fascinates (the Coen Brothers pulled a similar stunt with "No Country for Old Men," but their surface simplicity portended greater metaphors and meaning culled straight from Cormac McCarthy's source novel). While many have lauded "Bone"'s unconventional Noir and pulp aspects (set in the Ozarks, the film is populated by tattooed hicks, corrupt policemen, and charred houses where crank labs once stood), the lack of any sort of narrative payoff turns the proceedings into a wild goose chase trying to convince viewers that it's the Real Deal.
Review of Winter's Bone
