From jweekly.com:
A riveting drama set in the Ozark Mountains, “Winter’s Bone” has such a strong sense of place, and is so steeped in backwoods mores, that it’s hard to believe it was directed by a Jewish urbanite.
“Visual anthropology is a huge draw for me, always looking at lives that are different from my own,” the Manhattan filmmaker explains. “It’s not an alienation from who I am necessarily; in addition to who I am, I’m curious about these other life experiences.”
There’s a vast difference between Granik’s world and that of Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence), the stubborn 17-year-old protagonist of “Winter’s Bone” who takes matters into her own hands when her far-from-ideal father disappears and puts the family’s home in jeopardy. Granik couldn’t help feeling like a stranger in a strange land from her first scouting trip in southern Missouri with Daniel Woodrell, author of the source novel.
Read the full story at jweekly.com.