CHASING OSCAR - Road to Madness

JENNIFER LAWRENCE 

as Ree Dolly in WINTER'S BONE (2010)
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With an absent father and a withdrawn and depressed mother, 17 year-old Ree Dolly keeps her family together in a dirt poor rural area. She's taken aback however when the local Sheriff tells her that her father put up their house as collateral for his bail and unless he shows up for his trial in a week's time, they will lose it all. She knows her father is involved in the local drug trade and manufactures crystal meth, but everywhere she goes the message is the same: stay out of it and stop poking your nose in other people's business.

"What I really can't stand is the way I feel ashamed... for dad!"

                                         - Ree Dolly

Jennifer Lawrence, received her first and last Oscar nomination to date, playing Ree Dolly, a seventeen years old girl who has to raise her two younger siblings and find a way to keep the house her father put as bond. Jennifer Lawrence delivers a raw and poignant performance. It’s very rare for a young and new actress to put so much maturity in her acting. The life is not easy for her, she had to grow up quicker than other kids because her mother is mentally ill, and her father is declared “MISSING”.

Jennifer Lawrence gives a complex portrait, and shows the strong, brave and determined sides of her character quite stunningly. It’s a physically and emotionally challenging performance, and she manages to give to Ree a real authenticity. The scene in which she tries to speak to her mother, and asks for help is heartbreaking. She is vulnerable and very effective in her way to approach her sensibility. It’s a great piece of acting. Ree doesn’t know what to do, she is deadlocked. The world and the people surrounding her are dark, scary and violent. The scene where she is beaten is really hard to see, and Jennifer is surprisingly effective and believable in it. Silence and secret are main words in this area for those people but Ree doesn't take NO for an answer. She lives in a world where you have to survive or you die. Jennifer Lawrence’s acting is incredibly realistic, and the words coming out of her mouth seem so natural. She makes us feel bad when she is hurt, and sorry when she is in a difficult situation, but also painful when she is vulnerable. She is going deeper and deeper in the understanding of her character. 

"Granik handles this volatile, borderline horrific material with unblinking ferocity and feeling.... In Lawrence, Granik has found just the right young actress to inhabit Ree. Her performance is more than acting, it's a gathering storm"

                                                                                               - Peter Travers

Jennifer Lawrence delivers a haunting and complex performance with so much realism and empathy. She gives life to a character of unusual strength. In a very complicated role, she is fantastic and dazzles in this Oscar-caliber performance. 

★★★★★