Dir. Debra Granik
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, John
Hawkes, Lauren Sweetser, Garret Dillahunt
There are unwritten codes that
govern life in the Ozarks of southern Missouri. Blood and kinship is important.
One should never ask for help; it should be offered. Never step foot inside a
man’s house without the man (and it is always the man) granting permission. And
keep your mouth shut – don’t gossip, don’t blacken someone’s name, and never,
ever, talk to the police.
It is this web of codes that
17-year-old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) must navigate. She is responsible for
looking after two younger siblings and a mother suffering from mental illness
in the absence of her crank-cooking father Jessup. When he skips bail – having
left all the family’s property as security – she has to find him and persuade
him to return for trial to stop their home being seized. Once that trial date
has passed, however, her mission changes; the only way to protect her family is
to present proof that her father is dead.
It soon becomes apparent that
these are missions which are not popular. No one wants Ree to be asking the
questions she is asking. It becomes clear that there is a conspiracy of
silence. Those that do know the truth about her father’s disappearance are
prepared to fight to keep their secrets; even those that do not know the truth
recognise that asking questions is a sure-fire way to get into trouble. Her
uncle Teardrop (John Hawkes) puts it plainly: if she discovers who killed his
brother he does not want to know. Knowing puts him in peril. As the film ends
he states that he knows the name of the killer. He says it quite sadly. There
are two ways to read his reaction. Firstly, that he knows that he is now in
danger because of his knowledge (which would explain why he returned to banjo
to Ree). Or secondly, that he is now expected to avenge his brother’s death,
perpetuating a bloodfeud. He is not keen for either result. When Ree pokes her
nose in too far the fact that she is an innocent 17-year-old girl can only
protect her so far. She is beaten – but only by women because the local code of
honour prevents men from laying hands upon her. She is asked what she thinks
should happen next. She bites back that maybe they should kill her. Melissa
comments that ”That idea’s been said
already”. Ree only wants to get to the truth to protect her family. She is
so devoted to this that she is kinda hard-core. To get to the end of the story
she has to be exposed to an awful side of life that most people are thankfully
sheltered from. Her determination is inspiring.
It is a hardscrabble existence in
the hills. The homes are hand-made, people have guns to hunt for the table, and
wood needs chopping for the fire. And Ree and her family are the poorest of the
poor, even though they are not yet quite at the bottom. Skinning a shot
squirrel her younger brother asks whether they eat the intestines. Ree’s answer
is “Not yet” implying that she knows
there will come a time when they will have to just to survive. Before his
arrest her father was engaged in crime – principally the production and sale of
methamphetamines (“crank”). Ree
accepts this as fact, even seems proud that he was good at it. She may not take
drugs herself, but she appreciates that it was a career that provided for the
table. The wooded and difficult terrain makes the Ozarks the perfect place to
secrete meth labs. It is a location that encourages clannishness; the
inhabitants all seem to be related to each other, even if at several removes.
 |
| Teardrop refused to accept another three points on his licence |
It is not a pleasant film to
watch. There is no glamour, just a stubborn heroism. The nearest it comes to
sudden action is the suspenseful scene where Teardrop faces down the sheriff
(Garret Dillahunt). That is one scene that will definitely live long in the
memory, along with the passage where Ree is finally taken by boat to bring back
her father. There is a creeping dread pervading the entire picture, as the
viewer realises that there is very little hope for people from these
communities. Shipping out with the army is about the best that they can hope
for. It is very affecting and very memorable. And in Jennifer Lawrence’s Ree
Dolly it has provided us with an inspiring heroine for these troubled times.
What have I learnt about
Missouri?
The Ozark hills look quite bleak,
and the life of its inhabitants seems even bleaker. This seems a land where the
only escapes are childbirth or joining the army. Or drugs. Home-made
laboratories for ‘crank’ (methamphetamines) dot the landscape. Everyone seems
to be either making it or using it, and the local criminal bosses are not
people to be messed with. Those who threaten their control get beaten or
killed. Bodies are buried or fed to the hogs. Even for those who do get
involved with this illegal subculture life is hard. People live in rundown
farms or cluttered trailers. Guns are common and so is hunting – squirrel and
deer helps to round out the diet. Any vehicle that is not a truck is remarked
upon as being out of place. The men wear beards and baseball caps and the women
seem beaten down by life. There is no social services safety net except for the
kindness and generosity of neighbours.
Legitimate business seems to
revolve around cattle. Fiddle and banjo bluegrass music is the soundtrack to
celebrations. Ties of kinship are important – but they cannot get one
everything. Talking about things that out not to be mentioned is a bad idea.
Can we go there?
I’m not sure I’d particularly
want to travel down into the Ozarks. The forested hills are meant to be areas
of great beauty. The stark winter landscapes shown in this film suggest
barrenness rather than beauty to my eyes. And the local craft industry isn’t
much to my taste either.
But for die-hard fans, the film
was shot entirely on location in Christian and Taney counties in southern
Missouri, stretching down to the Arkansas Line. Forsyth Public School
featured, as did the stock yards
in Springfield.
Overall Rating: 4/5
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