Great performance by a relative unknown…. but….
I have found this year’s THE READER. Little known or seen movie, great leading performance, some interesting plot points… but a complete bore in execution.
I’ll start by saying that Jennifer Lawrence, an actress I’d never heard of going into this film, gives a truly fantastic performance. At only 20 years old, she takes the film on her shoulders and runs with it. Oscar nomination well deserved, that is for sure.
The problem with the film, for me, is the film. Nothing happens. It’s established early on in the film that Lawrence’s character has to find her father, so she mundanely looks for him in the backwoods of the Ozark Mountains, getting herself into trouble. I know it’s probably the point of the film, but there’s no adventure finding him. There’s no humor. I never felt a sense of urgency in the search. It just… happened. Think of WINTER’S BONE as a much drier TRUE GRIT, or NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN without the awesome air compressor (but every bit as boring, and then some).
This, again, may be a victim of my prejudices in watching the film…. but I didn’t find this one enjoyable. In fact, I usually take an hour or so (at least) before writing my reviews, to let the film sit in my mind for a few minutes. For WINTER’S BONE, however, I felt the need to write immediately for fear of forgetting the film entirely (Lawrence’s performance excluded).
