Movies

A girl is searching for her presumably dead father in order to prevent her house from being seized by a bondsman. The father turned out to be murdered in a community effort to prevent him from talking to the police about the neighborhood's little drug operation. The claustrophobic atmosphere in the film is accompanied by dry local dialog which won't exactly make you spin in your seat. By the time the film is over, you have gained nothing in terms of entertainment or a better understanding of what the hell it is that makes these people tick. The film just kind of drags on for 100 minutes and then ends. It's not a poorly made film by any means, it just begs the question why anyone would bother to create it in the first place.

Seventeen-year-old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is struggling to keep her family together with her wits and tenacity. Her meth making father put the family home up as collateral for his bail but has gone missing. Ree must find her daddy before the family loses the little they have left. As she searches, she encounters unsavory elements that threaten to end her young life.This is noteworthy for Jennifer Lawrence's indie breakthrough. She delivers a performance of quiet determination. There is something behind that look and it was obvious the first time I saw it even before her bigger blockbusters. The rundown rural setting gives a foreboding tension to the film. This announced the arrival of a new Hollywood star.

Many motives to admire this film. First, not doubts, the performance of Jennifer Lawrence, far surprising after a decade from made the film. Second, the story, the clash of courage of a 17 years old girl and the silence of comunity about the fate of her father. Not the last, for resemblance with a novel like Baltagul by Mihail Sadoveanu, not ignoring the differences. A story about survive and about precise image of isolated comunity. About responsability, fight for family and the bitter taste of truth. Short, just admirable film.