SOUTHERN GOTHIC CINEMA

“The Southern Gothic style employs macabre, ironic events to examine the values of the American South. Thus unlike its parent genre, it uses the Gothic tools not solely for the sake of suspense, but to explore social issues and reveal the cultural character of the American South – Gothic elements often taking place in a magic realist context rather than a strictly fantastical one. . . .  Many characteristics in Southern Gothic literature relate to its parent genre of American gothic and even to European gothic. However, the setting of these works is distinctly Southern. Some of these characteristics include exploring madness, decay and despair, continuing pressures of the past upon the present, particularly with the lost ideals of a dispossessed Southern aristocracy, and continued racial hostilities.”

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) // The Night of the Hunter (1955) // The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) // Wise Blood (1979) // Interview with the Vampire (1994) // Eve’s Bayou (1997) // Winter’s Bone (2010) // The Beguiled (2017)

Whoever decided to let Jennifer Lawrence hold the laudatory speech for Lily Gladstone, I feel so fucking seen by them. Because for me it was just a perfect moment.

Jennifer Lawrence, who had her first Lead Actress Academy Award nomination for Winter's Bone, a heart-wrenching beast of a movie driven almost entirely on Lawrence's stellar performance. Jennifer Lawrence, who did not receive this award back then, although I so very direly hoped she would. Jennifer Lawrence, who got her Academy Award just two years later.

She speaks to Lily Gladstone, whose performance is the key to make Killers of the Flower Moon an important movie. Lily Gladstone, whose performance wrenched my heart almost as much as Lawrence's once did. Lily Gladstone, whom I so very direly hoped to win this year's Lead Actress Academy Award.

My wife and I have a tradition of watching a recording of the Academy Awards during breakfast on the morning after (time-zone wise that's better than pretending that we're still young enough to stay up way past ass o'clock to watch it live). And today marked the first time in years that it left me fucking sobbing over my breakfast.

And I want to thank the Academy for that.

Bonus points for giving me perfect comfort after Gladstone did not win the award. Lawrence also did not, but she did so later. So there is hope. Gosh. I needed this reminder.

if i had a nickel for every time jennifer lawrence played a 16 year old girl from a poor mountain region responsible for her family with a once-pretty now-catatonic mother i'd have two nickels

which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice

also characters named jessup in both franchises is that anything

Winter's Bone (2010) dir. Debra Granik

Winter's Bone (2010)

Winter’s Bone is technically a coming-of-age story, which makes it the most nerve-frying example of the genre I can think of. This tale of a teenage girl burdened by gigantic responsibilities lives below the search for a man who will leave her with even fewer prospects than she currently has. With danger around every corner and the few trustworthy people being about as friendly as rattlesnakes, there are no chances to rest. Bolstered by an incredible performance by Jennifer Lawrence, this film is hard to shake.

In the middle of nowhere, Missouri, seventeen-year-old Ree Dolly (Lawrence) is barely managing to care for her mentally ill mother (Valerie Richards), twelve-year-old brother Sonny (Isaiah Stone) and six-year-old sister Ashlee (Ashlee Thompson) when she gets a visit from the local Sheriff. After his arrest, Ree's father put the Dolly home up as part of his bond. If he doesn’t show up for his court date in three days, the county will take possession of their home.

Finding a deadbeat dad who was caught manufacturing meth and is now running away from a 10+ year sentence? You might as well ask Ree to find a needle in a haystack. The looming deadline and high stakes mean there isn’t even time for her to get angry. All she can do is look and ask people, which puts her at risk of violence - or worse. When you think “crime boss”, the picture in your mind has some kind of “class”. Fat cigars, fancy cars, that kind of thing. Thump Milton (Ronnie Hall) is far more terrifying than any gangster you could imagine because he lives in a dump and his wife (Dale Dickey) looks like she’s been crudely carved out of rock. He might be at the top of this food chain but it’s an environment where there isn’t enough food for everyone so all the animals are perpetually starving and eager to jump on each other. Being a minor and a girl provides Ree with the slightest bit of protection as part of an unspoken code of honour… but she’ll burn through that quickly with all her questions. Unfortuantely, she has no choice but to persevere. At least her meth-addicted uncle Teardrop and his girlfriend Victoria (Cinnamon Schultz) MIGHT have mercy on her. You know the sheriff’s office won’t hesitate to take away the house.

The film is set in modern day but it might as well be in a post-apocalyptic wasteland or the wild west. Even if Ree finds her father, what’s she going to do? Convince him to show up in court? It would be better to find his corpse. Then she could keep the house and he'd be out of her life permanently. The law’s not going to help and you can practically see the vultures starting to circle. Even when someone does lend a helping hand, you’re suspicious. Either there are strings attached or that exchange of information will rub someone the wrong way. You don’t even want to think about what would happen to the family if they lose the house.

The script and superb direction from Debra Granik (who co-wrote the screenplay with Anne Rosellini) makes everyone feel like real people. Dangerous, desperate and unpredictable people. One wrong word could mean sudden violence. It could also trigger the last remnants of sympathy. This is a bleak film but it’s somehow hopeful as well. It’s not a nice movie and just about everyone you meet is rotten but young Sonny and Ashlee are in better hands now than they would’ve been if their father had stuck around. Yes, this is a rough patch; maybe the roughest the family has ever faced but if they can get through this, Ree will have proved her mettle. Combined with the smarts to know to stay away from the “family business”, it could be enough to get the Dolly children not necessarily out of the muck of poverty, but in the direction of a happy ending. Assuming this is that kind of movie. You get a strong feeling this will all end in a bloodbath…

There’s a single dream sequence with black-and-white imagery I’m not sure was necessary. Otherwise, this film is just about flawless. It's certainly memorable. Winter's Bone is so scary and dark you’re amazed that it nonetheless manages to make Ree - and you - more determined to go on rather than give up. (On DVD, August 30, 2021)

scene comparsion of “Winter’s Bone” (2010) and “The Hunger Games” (2012)

Debra Granik

Debra Granik was born in 1963 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Granik won the Best Director prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival for her film Down to the Bone. She is best known for her 2010 film Winter's Bone, which was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. Granik was nominated for Best Director at the 2019 Independent Spirit Awards for her film Leave No Trace.

The going sun chucked a vast spread of red behind the ridgeline. A horizon of red light parsed into shafts by standing trees to throw pink in streaks across the valley snow.

Daniel Woodrell

Now showing on DuranDuranTulsa's Drama Filmhouse...Winter's Bone (2010) on classic DVD 📀! #movie #movies #drama #wintersbone #JenniferLawrence #JohnHawkes #isaiahstone #DVD #2010s #durandurantulsa #durandurantulsasdramafilmhouse

Cross Bone Style source: Winter's Bone (2009) song/artist: Cross Bone Style by Cat Powers length/size: 4:36 / 42MB mp4 download: right-click save as - thank you epershand for hosting my stuff!

Summary: You have seen some unbelievable things.

and now i bring to you my concept art for my imaginary tos episode: the crew go to the beach planet (the beach episode) 🏝️

Roe deer remains in Haukijärvi, Hämeenkyrö, Finland - January 2023.