Winter’s Bone

I am not fond, nor do I make a practice of reviewing on this blog. My role as a coach is to support, critique and develop the skills of the actor, not to tell you what I like and dislike with regard to art in content or form.

Nonetheless, having spent the afternoon watching this film in the cinema, I wanted to share my opinion of it as an example to which we can all aspire. The film in question is Winter’s Bone, an unflinching tale of a teenage girl, searching for her daddy in the dangerous social terrain of the Ozarks. The lead in this picture playing Ree Dolly is Jennifer Lawrence who is quite literally one of the most natural, truthful, organic and unpretentious performers that I have ever witnessed. The film, and her performance dripped with authenticity. For such a young actress, to tap into the ease with which she performed her role was very special indeed.

Lawrence has never had a drama or an acting lesson and it shows. She is not filled with the self doubt of the trained actor. She does not feel the need to patronise us by painting her performance for us. She is simply instinctive, spontaneous, and entirely at ease with herself on camera. Lawrence is no new-comer, yet, I imagine when Oscar comes around, she will be probably be left behind as the trail of glitterati actors are worshiped for their run-o-the-mill performances.

There is a great scene in which Ree goes to talk to an army recruiter. I knew immediately that the man was really a soldier and the credits confirm this. How was I so sure? Because AGAIN, his performance did not reek of someone trying to think for the audience. He was just truthful.

This is what I desire to see on stage and screen. But when I go to the theatre, most of the time, I see that the actors do not trust the audience, they have to do the work for them, in case they can’t join the dots for themselves. Perhaps this is partially society’s fault for the ‘dumbing down’ effect, but… something tells me that when actors like Lawrence grace our screens, we get to see a little bit of perfection and we do not need to be spoon-fed.

This is in contrast to watching 30 minutes of the UK-teen soap Hollyoaks this week, where the acting criteria seems to be ‘must look fit’ and ‘can act without looking at camera’. The acting is entirely patronising, pantomime style and ridiculous. It makes me embarrassed for the actors when I watch it.

My tip for one of the finest performances that you will see this year is Jenny Lawrence in Winter’s Bone. You might not like the film, you might not like the story, but Lawrence’s performance is undeniable.

The copyright for the picture used in this blog is presumed to belong to the film company Roadside Attractions. I will without qualm remove it if anyone believes that I am using this image in a way that does not constitute fair usage under British law.