Working in the newborn suite and neonatal intensive care unit in a downtown Fresno hospital, I often encounter mothers on methamphetamines. They're easy to identify; the drug causes rotten teeth and premature aging. These moms usually had little to no prenatal care, and when the babies are born, they can be very agitated from the drug exposure. I get social work and child protective services involved, if they aren't already, because the mothers' lives are often such train wrecks that they can't care for their children. It's easy to feel saddened, even disgusted, by the whole situation.Winter's Bone is a film set in the Missouri Ozarks, where meth has ravaged the hillbilly community, and it too is sad and disgusting. Here's the plot: 17 year old Rhee must track down her father (or what's left of him) in order to keep her family from being evicted from their cabin, which was used to post her dad's bail. The man cooked meth in makeshift labs, was arrested, made bail and then vanished, leaving his family to survive on their own.
The movie pretty much follows Rhee on her quest to find her dad, pestering meth heads who do not want to be bothered, but also happen to be Rhee's own relatives. There's suspense that builds as she attempts to uncover the truth behind her dad's disappearance, and it ultimately leads to a pretty gruesome finale.
But what's scariest about this movie is the grim reality the characters occupy, and unfortunately the movie doesn't really address how this all came to pass. I mean, what the hell happened here? How is it that the Ozarks became a drug wasteland that left its children scrounging for squirrels? My guess is through a combination of poverty/lack of resources, isolation and an interest in chemistry. These details were probably better explained in the book (the movie is based on a novel by the same name, written by Daniel Woodrell.) As usual, a movie adaptation fails to tell the whole story, so to speak.
I don't mean to discount the film entirely, as there are several strong points. The performances are pretty impressive, especially considering the only recognizable star is John Hawkes (from the show Eastbound and Down and the indie hit Me and You and Everyone We Know), who plays Rhee's uncle Teardrop and looks like a mangy chihuahua on blow. The cinematography is very very bleak, and leaves you feeling quite unsettled. And then there is Rhee herself, who is just an awesome young hero. She takes on the role of guardian to her younger sibs, and has the bravery to stand up to gun-totting, drug addled rednecks who would've chased me off their property in a heartbeat. The movie reassures us that even after adults have laid waste to society, children have the power to survive and make things right. Now doesn't that make you feel good?
