Post-Oscars and pre-spring is always an odd time for movie releases.
At this time of year, the glamorous chore of writing film reviews becomes a daunting task. Consider that the new release in town is something, oh just to take it to the hilt let's say, a JONAS BROTHERS MOVIE.
I can't face the reality of such releases after reminiscing - via the recent award season - about films in 2008 such as "Happy-Go-Lucky," "Man on Wire," "Rachel Getting Married," "Slumdog Millionaire" and a handful of other great movies. It was the best year for good films in a long time.
After revisiting "Man on Wire" on DVD and seeing "Slumdog" a second time, I just didn't have it in me to see a Hanson wannabe band (in headache-inducing 3-D) or the latest effort in the genre that is "skinny young black dude becomes fat middle-aged black woman" and this time goes to jail. The aim is hilarity, which has been seldom, if ever, achieved in these films.
Then, looking over the list of Oscar nominees, it came to my attention that several of these movies never showed in Springfield at all. Dan and Nicole Chilton, who own The Moxie Cinema, have presented Oscar-nominated short-subject films and short-animated films the past few years, and that's the only chance most of us have had to see such things. But even The Moxie lets one or two things slip though the cracks.
Courtney Hunt's "Frozen River" is one film that garnered two major nominations - one for best original screenplay and a best actress nod to Melissa Leo.
Leo absolutely deserves to be in the company of this year's winner, Kate Winslett, and Meryl Streep, a two-time winner with more than a dozen nominations. Leo is that good, and her portrayal of Ray Eddy, a single mom on the bottom rung of the economic ladder. Her spirit and relentless hope cause her to soar, however, and Leo's performance never borders on melodrama, nor does she overplay the role. There were times I forgot she was actually an actress and had to remind myself that "Frozen River" is not a documentary. It's shot in a near cinema vérité style and has an air of realism throughout.
Ray's husband is a habitual gambler and fritters away the family's money, not at casinos but the local bingo parlor.
As the film opens, Ray is trying to take delivery on her dream home, a new doublewide trailer that is being delivered in two segments. The driver refuses to leave the first half of the home because Ray doesn't have the down payment.
Furious, she goes to the bingo hall to find her husband, but they won't let her in because she doesn't have the $5 admission fee. As she is leaving, she notices someone is stealing her car.
That someone is a local resident of the Mohawk reservation, Lila Littlewolf. As played by Misty Upham, Lila is a stoic woman of few words and, like Ray, of great determination.
Ray has found her wayward husband's car with the keys still in it, and Lila tells her she knows a man who will buy it for $2,000. When they get to the man's house, on the Canadian side of the Mohawk reservation, instead of buying the car, he puts two people in the trunk to move them across the U.S. boarder. Lila tells Ray to shut up and drive.
This leads to an uneasy business relationship between the women, and Ray realizes she can make enough money for her doublewide down payment performing illegal alien runs once a week between her shifts at the Yankee Dollar General store.
The supporting characters are Ray's sons, 15-year-old T.J., who is trying to be the man of the family, and 5-year-old Ricky, an innocent kid unaware of his clan's problems.
"Frozen River" is a quietly powerful film that explores a lot of social areas. Racism is a backdrop in the story, as we see how differently the Mohawks are treated than even the poorest whites in the area. Ray's and Lila's bond is uneasy but strong, and teaches the importance of the little things in everyday life.
One reviewer, Ty Burr of The Boston Globe, compared Leo's performance to that of Patricia Neal's in "Hud." It's a great comparison.
Leo's Ray Eddy is world-weary but not beaten down. She's not glamorous but has a dignity that makes her a woman you'd really like to meet and converse with over a beer.
"Frozen River" is now available on DVD and is (in retrospect) one of the best films of 2008.[[In-content Ad]]
Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.
