"I've always been scared of you." "That's cause you're smart." Movie Review: Winter's Bone

Mesmerizing and traumatic.  This movie was like a modern-day, non-stereotypical western.  Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone tells the story of a seventeen year old girl who is raising her two younger siblings in a backwoods town in modern-day Arkansas.  She goes on the search for her crank-cooking father so he can make his court date and her family doesn't lose their house due to his bail bond.  To find him, she has to deal with a bunch of people who pride themselves on not talking, and will kill anyone who does (even if they are family).  There is a lot of menace and the need to read between-lines.  I found myself feeling the emotions for the lead character (Ree) because there was no way she could show them to anyone else - and those emotions were a roller coaster ride from small moments of joy to one of the most traumatic things I've seen on film.  Highly recommend.  Rated: R  Type: Film  Grade:  A.