Winters Bone Analysis

Winters Bone (Debra Granik, 2010)

Winters Bone is a Hybrid Genre film. This film has elements of indie film, crime drama and thriller films. It was directed by Debra Granik in 2010 who was able to show a true reflection of life in a small, struggling town while also successfully exploring the life of a 17 year old who has to play both a motherly and fatherly role to her two young siblings.

This film uses Lighting and sound to effectively convey particular messages and portray specific emotions. The use of dark lighting in the house, mainly only natural light like sunlight or light from the fire, show both the emotional and economic state that the family and especially Ree(Jennifer Lawrence) and her mother are in. The Low lit home remind us that it is a place of sadness, grief and desolation. This is also a reflection of her mother, who hardly leaves the house and never talks. Not only does it suggest the destruction of their mother’s mental health and the way Ree feels but it also shows that they can’t afford to pay the electric bills for their home, it suggests that they have no money. This is also suggested by the costume as you often see each character wear the same outfit, with items of clothing with rips and lots of dark colours, again representing their emotional state. The use of sound also represents many emotions, for example the scene when ree is cutting firewood, the sound of her cutting the wood is intensified suggesting that she may be feeling angry. The fact that she has headphones on means she is blocking everything else out but could also suggest that she feels she has to contain her anger for the sake of her family, which could also explain why she is so calm during the rest of the film.

Throughout the film, we see a lot of scenes which show Ree trudging through woodlands of Missouri in its darkest season, this represents the theme of isolation, the idea that Ree is alone in her travels show that she is a strong and independent woman, but that she is also lonely and feels secluded from her peers and her family. She cannot go to school and get an education like her friends and although she lives with her family she has no form of escapism. Her siblings are young and do not yet have to face reality, while her mother has completely given up responsibility of facing reality , so Ree is left alone to deal with everything, until of course she eventually finds companionship in her uncle, an unlikely bond.

The use of Different camera techniques again prove to be very effective although, it also reflects the fact that this was an independent film. The handheld camera shots reflect the type of genre the film is, however I feel that Debra Granik has cleverly used this to her advantage by using the handheld shots as artistic and abstract. The use of handheld camera techniques makes this film feel much more personal, like it’s almost shot in the style of a documentary to create a personal connection with the audience, allowing them to empathize with each character as if they were real.