Not A Good Movie


I thought this was pretty poor. This is my review from my movie blog - http://reelcommentary.blogspot.com/ (with some words cleaned up for IMDB).

I wanted see this based on reading good things about it, so I watched it on Netflix last night. The story is about a 17 year old girl, Ree, who is trying to find her meth dealing father, as the family home is about to be taken away from them by bail bondsmen.

To complicate things, her father might be dead, her mother is nearly catatonic, and Ree has to take care of her younger brother and sister. Everyone in this movie is unlikeable except for Ree's siblings. All the characters are portrayed as violent, drug using, hillbillies. Now maybe this reflects true in certain families in Missouri, where this film is set, but it's not good for the main character to be so unpleasant. Yes, I thought she was an unlikeable character. Ree had been forced to become the caregiver to her mother and younger sibs, but other than doing that, which was less an act of nobility than an act of necessity, she displayed little that I felt was either smart or appealing.

The entire tone of the movie is somber. There are no indications that any of these characters will grow or have anything better in their lives. Everyone is resigned to the roles they've been born into. Drugs are all that these characters have to motivate them, either by selling, using, or manufacturing them.
As the movie came to an end, there was no redemption for anyone, no epiphanies, nothing learned by their suffering, and no hope for a future different than the past. It's a movie that shows only bleakness, only sorrow. The lack of any glimpse that Ree has some chance to escape this hell is what ultimately led me to the conclusion that this movie wasn't good. The acting is fine, and technically it's decent, but I didn't like anything about this movie or any of the characters. If I want to see stories about people doing awful things to one another, all I need do is turn the news on. I expect more of fiction than to merely tell me how *beep* up some people that I don't like are, or that drugs can *beep* people up and lead to misery. I know that - now show me something that has at least some revelatory quality to it. That would be a big step in the right direction, unlike Winter's Bone, which just seemed content to revel in s*** and try to pass it off as art.

Bring me four fried chickens and a Coke

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RhodyDave, you say you didn't care for any of the caracters. I just want to say that I did care for the girl a lot. She had a *beep* life but coped and I really admired her. I don't understand how anyone can not feel for this girl. Even after more that a year I am still thinking of her. You say that you didn't learn anything new from this film but I did. I never heard of the Ozarks before (I am not an American) and had no idea that things were so bad over there.

I found the film very good; in fact it was one of the best, let me rephrase; according to me it was the best film coming from the US recently. I don't want to attack you but you seem to have a strange set of rules as to what is a good movie. A movie should not be somber, characters have to grow, there should be an epiphany, characters should be likeable etc. Let me tell you this: Movies should not be any of these things. If they are they are boring and predictable. There are plenty of movies that have the qualities you seem to like. To me, and to many others, excactly these are the qualities that make so many American films so boring. I am glad not all American films are like the films you prefer. Sometimes we get to enjoy a jewel like Winter's Bone.

greetings from Allard from Amsterdam

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Your are absolutely right. Not a good movie. A brilliant one.

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Here's a major flaw in your reviewing: You personalize way too much when emphasizing on detail.

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you are, of course, entitled to your opinion

my opinion is that good reviews don't spoil movies by saying what has or hasn't happened by the end

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And yet many people completely disagree with your personal view. I felt it was a fantastic movie, and very realistic. So saying hands down it's not a good movie is rather comical. Personally I couldn't sit through Gone With The Wind. Does that make it a bad movie? Not at all. Simply means it wasn't my thing.

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Nobody cares about your *beep* blog Dave. Shut up and let the grown ups do the talking 'round here. Or better yet, go out to your "rural" area and go hunting for squirrels with Dick Cheney.

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It's about a tough, young, resilient and courageous girl fighting an uphill battle and winning. It's a story about poverty, drugs and a culture in decline.

You seem to have looked at the film in a very superficial manner. "It didn't make me laugh, it made me sad so it's bad". You shouldn't quit your day job.

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Kudos to you for stating your opinion on this film and enduring the personal attacks of the respondents who disagree.

I can't say I liked this film either, though my biggest problem is it felt dull and inauthentic. I don't mind films that are unrelentingly bleak – in fact I love them if they make me care – but this fell several notches short of the mark. Obviously we're outnumbered, and I'm OK with that. 6/10 stars from me.

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WarpedRecord,

I don't mind when someone disagrees with my opinion, but as we've seen, there are a number of tiny-brained reprobates who can't have a reasoned debate and instead have to resort to personal insults and attacks. Thanks for your response, which was a breath of fresh air.

Bring me four fried chickens and a Coke

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I didn't like this movie, either ... but I guess I can see why some people do. It's beautifully filmed, and there's something appealing about the main character being a heroine.

I agree with your first post. In addition, there was something about the tone of this movie that just seemed over-the-top. I saw it in the theater, and during several key, highly "dramatic" scenes, people in the audience were laughing at the movie.

I wasn't laughing, but I was thinking "Oh, brother." It's a love it or hate it film, I think. To me, it's one of the worst "must-see" movies I've seen in a while.

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