Forget all of the romantic notions about country living, because this movie, will neatly remove them from your mind one by one as if wildflowers and wrap around porches never existed. This is a total submergence into the bleak but hopeful story of a cast off family, where people are surviving on the land right here in our century within a wooded community, rather than a gated one. But don’t worry, the speed of this movie is just fast enough that you wont miss you tall glass of lemonade for a second, and by the end of it, you will be hankering for a nice warm bowl of squirrel stew and you’ll know how to make it from scratch.

Director, Debra Granik, and her collaborator, Anne Rosellini, adapted the story from the 2006 novel by Daniel Woodrell. Ree travels around her little rusted and weather worn world, on a mission to reveal what she instinctively already knows about the ill-fated 'Dolly' family. We trudge through the woods with her as it quickly becomes a very real part of her first taste of adult life.

I was taken by this film in more ways than one. It was masterfully done. I never knew people cavorting around the woods in just a small, probably ten mile radius, could be so intriguing. But it was Ree, Jennifer Lawrence's character, that was undeniable. No wonder it won best picture and best screenplay at Sundance.

For a minute I nuanced, when Ree was milling around with guns in front of the log cabin, that I was watching 'Cold Mountain’ rather than 'Winter's Bone'. Undoubtedly Jennifer is a close look-a-like for a young Renée Zellweger. Jennifer being just a bit younger, and a bit more attractive. But not for more than a second, because every scene had clear evidence of this century, like empty plastic bottles, trampoline, round hay bales with plastic netting, trucks, but most obvious, the winter clothing from Wal-Mart, which adorned every character at all times (not you sheriff). The only saving grace, was Rees little knit Alpaca Wool wanna-be ski hat, which I thought was kinda cute, and made her seem a bit smarter.

Bad fashion however did not in the least; distract me from being pulled into Rees character or this story. Or her whole family, which you soon discover; very authentically so, everyone is so related. Which really is all the cause of her troubles, well . . . and her daddy’s affinity for crystal meth and ‘snitchin’.

I thought it was interesting when she got the bright idea to sign up for the military. She walks in there beat to a pulp, and looking tougher than the recruiting officer, and he turns her down. He didn't turn her down because she couldn't handle it, to the contrary, they were two soldiers looking straight into each others eyes. The camera was close into their faces, and their faces meshed together from shot to shot, (well done). They were both soldiers.

Ree was fighting for her homestead, although every time she went home, or was home, there was trouble. Some biker thug was at her door, or the sheriff, again. Then there was the bail bondsman with nice arms and a sympathetic heart who stopped by a few times, and the unruly cousin, or the ‘sisters’ coming to take her to chop off someone’s body parts.

The body chop part was not the focus of this movie, however everything seemed hinged on getting this guys arms, hands, or whatever they managed to pull up out of the bog and hack with the chainsaw. Somehow the director managed to make it touching and heartwarming and, “oh hell are they really doing that?” at the same time.

Credit again to the makers of this movie, I have to admit I completely covered my eyes for a second, because I was there, and in Ree's discount, poly, camouflage hunting boots. While bog water splashed up on my face in horror. Oddly, I think I sat in the same seat in the River Oaks Theatre in 1991 and watched ‘Henry’ the documentary, but I think he used kitchen tools to chop up his victims.

Don’t get me wrong this is absolutely not a horror movie, but most certainly a thriller, especially to us city folk. If you can get past all of the destruction to the English language I promise, it won’t disappoint. One thing I can guarantee, if you could afford this movie ticket, you’ll walk out of this theater feeling ‘uppity’, which might just be exactly what you need.