I've never seen Jennifer Lawrence other than in the Hunger Games which really wasn't my kind of movie, but I thought she was outstanding in this. I've never seen or heard of John Hawkes before either, but I thought he dominated the screen in every scene he appeared in. The scene where he's in his truck with his gun at the ready and a cop pulls up close by was really intense, I couldn't help but wonder what the consequences would have been had the cop got out and approached him. A truly menacing character from the outset but he did at least show a few redeeming qualities in the later stages.
I thought it was a good film on the whole but boy was it grim to watch. It showed a side of American life that we in the UK rarely get to see on screen. Reminded me a little of that God awful bunch of inbreds in Deliverance. Not exactly the kind of people you want to be around.
I watched the movie quite late at night on TV and I'm sure there are lots of details I missed, so I must buy a copy and watch it again. I'll give it a rating after 2nd viewing, at the moment I'm thinking 7-8. As others have said both lead actors should have been in the reckoning for an Oscar nomination.
This means something, this is important.
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