[8]

Jennifer Lawrence earned her first Oscar nomination playing Ree, a brave teenager raising her younger siblings in Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone, based on a novel by Daniel Woodrell. When her drug-dealing father puts the family home up for collateral on his bail, it’s up to Ree to save her family from becoming homeless. Winter’s Bone is essentially a quest for the father, whose dealings and whereabouts are a topic of secretive, volatile discourse in the impoverished Ozark community. The storytelling is supported by one of the best all-around casts I can remember of late, including best supporting actor nominee John Hawkes as Uncle Teardrop and Dale Dickey as a gruff woman from whom Lawrence must pry the truth. Look for Twin Peaks‘ Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) in a supporting role. The film is also nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.