As someone who has spent a lot of time in rural flyover places and who actually remains in contact with people who--I'm not making this up--
live in such places, I get pretty pissed off at drama that exploits the crudest clichés of inbred, violent hillbillies. That said, this is not only saved but elevated by the performances of
John Hawkes,
Dale Dickey, and especially 19-year-old newcomer (not counting a string of I'm guessing dumb teen flicks I've never heard of)
Jennifer Lawrence as a high-school dropout trying to raise her younger siblings and care for her trouble-addled mother in the absence of her crank-cooking father, whose apparent bond-running has endangered the family home. The first half is a Wizard of Oz movie, except that the strange, dangerous world Ree has to explore is just a more bizarre part of her strange and dangerous native land--Kansas neighbor Missouri, as it happens.
Trailers
- The Extra Man--This is the one I couldn't come up with yesterday, but I actually remembered it before seeing it again today: Kevin Kline as a fussy old gigolo, Paul Dano as his protégé.
1 comment:
Walking home after this, I thought about how easily the storyline could translate to the projects--the world of The Wire, for instance. Looking at it that way, the hillbillies are a refreshing change. And at least they're not watching TV all the time.
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