User Reviews

A young, willful teenage girl conducts a desperate hunt for her father, amidst the grey skies and brown, snow-kissed hills of an Ozark Mountain winter. It's a tough, winding trail that traverses thorny conversations with her cold, lip-zipped relatives as well as the bleak, desolate Missouri wilderness. The selfish restraint of nearly every face in this young girl's world is maddening. By the closing chapters, I wanted to see them all brained with a baseball bat, but it's not that kind of story. Instead, the film takes a note from its young, headstrong protagonist and simply endures, waiting for the storm to blow itself out before scoping what's left behind. Jennifer Lawrence shines in the difficult leading role, balancing responsibility with determination, and enjoys plenty of help from a rich, convincing supporting cast. It's also quite appropriately shot, with a focus on rural poverty and a permeating lack of color. Bleak, dark and emotionally exhausting, it's a powerful bit of cinema, but not something I could bear to watch multiple times.

Quiet but never awkward; Raw but never cheap. Also extremely well-acted, with Jennifer Lawrence giving her best performance.

Debra Granik's film, Winter's Bone is one of the best films of all time, and it is expertly written. Ree Dolly is one of the most interesting protagonists of all time. Teardrop Dolly is another complex character worth watching.

This movie is difficult. It unfurls at a snails pace slowly building towards a penultimate mystery we all know the answer to . But what makes it so captivating is the uncomfortable objective realism it summons as we watch this somehow hopeless and optimistic quest to save their home. Jennifer Lawrence is a quiet force in the lead role perfectly embodying the stressful yet tumultuous role of breadwinner. It's a worthwhile journey.

Jennifer Lawrence gives a star making performance and it has a gripping story even though some of the cast gives bad performances and its low budget makes it suffer. I give this movie 82%.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Serious and realistic movie with a good insight into family problems of very poor people. Good acting also.

One of 2010's best movies. Lawrence truly announces herself, in this raw, powerful and gripping drama. Must see

It gave me nothing to think about, nothing to mull over, nothing to take in. To be promised so much and given zero in the way of entertainment or insight is the ultimate middle finger to the audience. I left feeling duped, like I had been led on an elaborate scam designed to rob me of two hours of life.

a concrete supporter.. Winter's Bone Among plenty of character driven features that are produced, only few of them gets it right and this is definitely one of them. As mentioned, there is a lot of craft to explore in here that too in each aspect, as usually as an indie feature does and the primary reason to that is the free spirit that it brings along with it that needs no boundaries and isn't afraid on telling its own story. The writing is strong, witty with gripping screenplay that leaves the audience on the edge of the seat throughout the course of the feature with a hint of mystery in the air. Debra Granik; the screen-writer and director, has done a tremendous work on pulling off such a feature through her brilliant execution skills where each frame is given equal importance and speaks volume in here. On performance level, it all comes down to Jennifer Lawrence; the protagonist, who carries it off all on her shoulder with her head held high. It is short on technical aspects like sound department and art design but is fulfilling in its perfect editing. Winter's Bone is a concrete supporter to the cinema, actors, makers and the audience as it conveys crucial message in crystal clear language that cannot go unheard.

While the characters are particularly well played with high degree of authenticity, the plot falls short and become more of a long and drowy tale that fails to engage the audiences.

Aside from Jennifer Lawrence, the rest of the cast is forgettable. John Hawkes is under-utilized, and this bleak Ozark poverty porn tale seems like a natural precursor to the nation's opiate epidemic. The ending "drama" is laughably campy.

Outstanding! This movie feels so real and raw, with its visuals and performances, that it almost tricks the audience into thinking it is a documentary. Very intimate, suspenseful, a very meticulously researched, in depth study about life in the Ozarks. Debra Granik's direction, every actor's performance, even from the local non-actors, works together perfectly to recreate this realty. But of course, the highlight of the movie is its young heroine Ree Dolly, portrayed with such unusual intensity and maturity by one of the best actresses working today, Jennifer Lawrence.

Winter's Bone brings every bone down to the ground like soft grass with dirt. You'll bring its decoy just like bringing a pet dog down on the road. Winter's Bone is lovable.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Winter's Bone is a human drama that look at the lives of a troubled family during a unique time of need. You'll walk out truly caring about these characters and the devastation from the screen. Jennifer Lawrence proves she is already one of the greatest actresses of her time.

This one was alright to pretty good. Jennifer Lawrence delivers a true powerhouse performance, while John Hawkes is great in a supporting role. The look and feel of this film is also very good and feels very authentic and cold (perfect for the season it takes place in). The direction from Debra Granik is also very good and the way the story is told is solid. However, it does go a little slow at times and the bleakness is at times overwhelming and suffocates an interesting story. Plus, there are some more gruesome scenes (not really graphic, but still) that are a pet peeve of mine in films that really take me out of a film. However, as a whole, Winter's Bone is a solid look at rural life that manages to be at least somewhat interesting throughout. I am surprised this one got the praise it did, because I did not find it to be overly special, aside from the acting and the cinematography.

A pretty slow and boring movie. The actors are decent, but the story is not very catchy. The depressive atmosphere of poverty is done well. But watching the movie is not very entertaining.

Winter's Bone is decent. It's well shot, closely directed, and convincingly acted. This might be Jennifer Lawrence's most naturalistic performance. The atmosphere is bleak yet somehow also beautiful. This is however far from the perfect movie that critics have made it out to be. The story lacks momentum. A good portion of the film is basically just Lawrence going from house to house asking questions to the local yokels. The film is mostly naturalistic and convincing, but there are some scenes in which the characters feel like stereotypical caricatures. The story's lack of dramatic heft and forward momentum is a crippling flaw. These are things that thrillers need in order to actually thrill. However, since it is mostly successful with bringing the main characters to life, has some convincing performances, and uses its setting well, I'm still going to recommend it to fans of understated films, as well as independent film fans. It doesn't reach the greatness though that many claim it does.

An astoundingly boring, self-important, intentionally-stupid film that has the beginnings **** plot, and then hides behind its unique setting and poverty-centered themes to cover up the simple fact that it's neither a well-written nor a well-directed film. Strip away the setting and you don't even get half an interesting story. Without the hyper-poverty, backwoods backdrop that *is* the film in all its entirety, this staggeringly slow romp with no interesting characters and lazy directing is the beginning of a story that never turns into anything but a manipulative set-piece that clearly believes its setting is enough (for critics, I guess it was), one which wouldn't be awarded for anything at all if not for the setting. I expected a lot from this film, but spent the entire time waiting for some sort of character or plot development, something to ignite the story into something worth watching, as opposed to just its setting. Truly a manipulative film that seemed to fool everyone with an interesting-to-some romp through the backwoods in exchange for remarkably lazy directing. Boring beyond belief, and shamelessly self-important.

There is a phenomenon that occurs in music, movies, and most performance art in general when something is average or below average and so committed to that mediocrity that people will inexplicably try to make you believe that there is so much more to it, and you may need a special gift or perspective to be able to experience it. Maybe it's because they don't want to feel left out from the hardcore crowd who lives by it or the experts who exalt it and describe it in their essays with words like "triumph". Whatever the reason I am here to deliver good news: those attitudes are false and your tastes are calibrated accurately. That being said, this movie is dull. It could've been filmed in any eastern patch of woods in October and it could've been acted by anyone. It's as deep as a rumor about something terrible, as a flashlight underneath someones face as they tell a ghost story. Don't let anyone tell you it's more.

Great movie with a gentle and liable development. It has a labored background that makes it interesting and complete in all aspects. It is necessary to highlight Jennifer Lawrence's performance as a brilliant one.

Driven by the outstanding lead performance supported by a bleak and raw atmosphere, Winter's Bone took me two watches to really appreciate. Truly real-world and thought provoking.

What takes this movie to the next level is the fact that there are actual people who live like this. This is someone's reality. You are thrust into a horror story that many of us could only imagine, and yet real people out there live through this horror everyday. A terrific script, and phenomenal performances from Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes. This is one of the best indie films of our generation.

This film is Jennifer Lawrence's coming out party. She is fantastic as a tough girl who has to find her father while taking care of her siblings. Also John Hawkes gives a strong performance as Lawrence's uncle.

What an overrated piece of trash Winter's Bone is... or should I say trailer trash? Outside of Jennifer Lawrence's outstanding acting job the rest of the movie is a big pile of crap. It's 90+ minutes of the dullest possible movie watching experience you can get combined with a mediocre plot and filled with characters that have no backbone and can't be related to. Honestly, if people like that really still exist, I could care less because they're all garbage. This movie is the perfect example of critics not knowing anything about film and only giving it high acclaim because it's different and not well known. Unless you want to see the reason Lawrence was cast to play Katniss, another tough young women who is forced to take care of her sibling(s) with next to nothing because her mother is worthless and her dad is gone, don't bother wasting your time.

Nobody should underestimate just how talented Jennifer is. A rich and profoundly grim realistic tale of the dark sides of society. It has suspense and mystery in this heroine's journey.

Winter's Bone won best film at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and was also nominated for 4 Academy Awards including best picture. While it was an outstanding story, it defiantly didn't deserve 3 of the 4 nominations. The film is very dark and slow moving, with lots of unnecessary dramatic pauses. Randomly they jump into country music and shots of hillbillies, it was all very odd. While I really enjoyed this movie, especially the storyline, it gave new meaning to the words "white trash". The only Oscar nomination that was warranted, is that of Lead Actress, Jennifer Lawrence. I've never seen her in anything before, but god was she impressive. In a world of darkness, drugs, murder, and despair, Ree stood out, everyone who came in contact with her knew she was special and so is the actress who played her. Normally movies like this aren't for me. It was the story that attracted me to this film, but it was Lawrence's performance that made this film worth seeing.

Lawrence shows off many the skills in her acting arsenal The film seems to drag along most of the time. The best part of the film is the authenticity of the setting in rural missouri.

The lead, played aptly by Jennifer Lawrence, must contend with taking care of her inept mother and younger brother and sister her out of the picture father, tied in with meth-cooking and pushing, has put their home up for bail. Ree (Lawrence) goes out to search for her father, asking the locals friend and foe where to even look. Unfortunately for Ree, her meth run neighborhood does not want her meddling, especially looking for her father. It's a slower paced, quiet, yet strong and vicious film. Dark and edgy.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

A very powerful film. the acting brought me to my knees but there was no finishing blow. It confused me why I didn't love it but it just didn't capture a good ending for the movie in general.

Great movie. Drags a little at times but overall this was really well done. Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic, worthy of every praise she got; it's plain to see why this turned her into a mega-star overnight.

Jennifer Lawrence unleashes a mammoth performance in a beautiful, real, haunting story. No special effects, but 90 minutes will pass and you'll sit back in your chair and wonder where the time went. This is a special movie that deserves to be remembered.

Winter's Bone is a genuine triumph, a great movie with astounding performances so natural, so genuine, that you forget it's a movie ,With Winter's Bone, Granik has morphed from a director worth watching to one who demands our undivided attention. She's got mine.

When the cause itself slips off of the context from the real problem, it starts to fall away, since its only matter is the subjectivity for grieve. So, distancing pain from the objective matter is what really counted on the resolution over the problem... It's extremely terrifying to deal with the fact that hands are held back every-time she seeks for them, and the only person she's got to fill the empty hole inside of her is no one other than herself,

This film was extremely well thought-out and executed but lacked the pacing which I enjoy in a film. It was very slow and monotonous, in the same way as No Country for Old Men, which I am sure was done on purpose but just stops me from giving this film outstanding marks. It was also acted brilliantly, with John Hawkes stealing the show. Debra Granik did well in her first 'big hit'.

One of the best thrilling films out there on the market. The films possesed such authenticity of haunting experience and encourages the viewers faith towards the "right" action and not to be blended by any external powers beside from ourselves. It's a riveting social-realist drama that will grip you throughout the whole journey of this young girl. A Powerfully Heroic Film.

This movie is really amazing, the story in Winter's Bone is interesting, and the better is the performance of Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic. This indie movie is fantastic.

Winter's Bone is to put it kindly a bore. it is an almost failure of a film except for the semi solid performance of jennifer Lawrence. It is a tale of backwoods trash that takes a tiny amount of real sentiment and spreads it so thinly along its narrative that your attention wants to go elsewhere but the problem is your mind can't and you end of wondering why am i sitting here?

Just watched it. Dear God in Heaven, what a painfully overrated film. Bland, stark (in a bad way) and boring. It might have been a much better production as a short film. The story failed to grab me once. A tale of backwoods trash that takes a tiny amount of real sentiment and spreads it so thinly along its narrative that your attention WANTS to go elsewhere. Missable. Very missable.

Fantastic movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jennifer Lawrence gives a star making performance and it has a gripping story even though some of the cast gives bad performances and its low budget makes it suffer. I give this movie 82%.

It sports a good performance from Jennifer Lawrence but where the hell is the pure cinematic artistry in this????? It's supposed to be a thriller, well it's boring as hell! 2/4 stars.

Unsettling, yet beautiful. Winters Bone is truly heart-breaking at times. Granik captures every emotion perfectly showing the characters diverse fall in the struggle to cope in a rural and dangerous world. It proves that a low budget can actually provide such poignant film-making. Not to mention a superb and mesmerizing performance is offered by Jennifer Lawrence.

While the plot was not particularly exciting, the characters (and the actors who played the characters) made the story interesting enough to hold together quite a bit of pleasantly evocative cinematography and music selections. Also, while the mood was predominantly depressing, just enough hope, strength, and courage exhibited by key characters helped to balance out what were otherwise pretty dire straits.

"Winter's Bone" is memorable for the solid performance of Jennifer Lawrence as well as the ready-to-explode tension director Debra Granik maintains. But the problem is, that's all the movie has.

Some great performances from Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes. The movie, however, is a little too minimalistic for my liking and the pacing is slow. I absolutely love the whole tone and feel of the movie.

Its slow-pace may be a problem for some people. But if you are patient enough you will be delightful by both its engaging plot and talented lead actress.

I loved the bleak-yet-hopeful atmosphere, and Jennifer Lawrence plays her part wonderfully. Pretty heavy though, so don't watch it if you're looking for light fare.