Critic’s Pick: ‘Winter’s Bone’

‘Winter’s Bone’

In summer, when a raft of new movies floats into theaters each Friday, it’s easy to miss the small indie films. So you might not have seen “Winter’s Bone,” a very un-summery sounding film, but try to catch it before it slips away. This finely wrought drama about a teenager’s fight to take care of her family in the drug-infected and poverty-saturated Ozark Mountain back country is sure to be an Oscar contender. Director Debra Granik captures the beauty and the pain of the region, Jennifer Lawrence’s performance as 17-year-old Ree Dolly is heartbreaking and John Hawkes’ as her uncle, Teardrop, is fearsome, as is the deadly crystal meth culture — the making and dealing and dying. The film is an extraordinary slice of a darker Americana. No apple pie here.

—Betsy Sharkey