Frozen River

I caught a viewing of this tonight at the fantastic Traverse City Film Festival. The film was really fantastic. It is an indie flick very reminiscent of David Gordon Green's work (George Washington, All the Real Girls, etc) in pacing, cinematography, and the depth of character the director is able to elicit with profound minimalism. The plot centers around a Mohawk coyote who smuggles illegals across the St. Lawrence in the winter by driving back and forth between the Canadian and US segments of the Mohawk Reservation. The Mohawk are one of the few tribes that issue their own passports and directly challenge federal authority to regulate their border. Because the reservation covers areas in both nations there isn't much either side can do. For the Mohawk, sovereignty has real meaning, and they protect it fiercely. The main character (aside from the Mohawk woman) is a white woman living in the area who's husband is a degenerate gambler and has taken off with the money she had saved to get them a new modular home. We never meet him, but nevertheless are given a good portrait of his and the family's struggles with his addiction. She needs $4k fast, stumbles into this smuggling business quite unexpectedly and decides its her only hope to avoid homelessness for herself and two kids. It's suspenseful, introspective, and the acting is top notch by everyone. I also loved how it provided a glimpse into one part of Indian Country few people even know exists, and treats the Indians as people rather than victims or otherwise attempts to cajole the audience into feeling something for them. They are just people. Just like us. Highly recommended.

source: Frozen River

I cannot believe the positive responses to this film. For that matter I can't believe it was accepted into Sundance (for the record I am a big fan of many films that go through Sundance, so this isn't an anti-art film thing). I'm just going to assume that no one actually watched the picture, it was just accepted because of the subject matter or who the Director knows and that she was really nice so they just voted for her film but were too busy to actually watch it. Simply the film is poorly written, poorly directed, and with the exception of the lead actress poorly acted (though I can't really blame them, the writing is awful). I had to hold in the laughter at almost line that was uttered. This was poor formulaic dribble with no heart. I don't buy the whole thing that just because it's about poor people that this must be some powerful film. Unfortunately the film says nothing. You are given no reason to really care for the Protagonists or ever believe that they are in any real danger. I can't go into much detail without making this a spoiler. The point is, don't waste your money, or your time( I wish I could have my time back). This film is miserable. Even more miserable because it is trying to be a work of art. I can understand when a bad studio picture is made, they don't care about soul.

Reminded me Ridley Scott's Thelma&Louise(1991), this film debut of director and writer Courtney Hunt delivers us a compulsory participation of the two opposite characters. Melissa Leo and Misty Upham perform two innocent and mature women driven into the crime world after desperation. Frozen River carries a vital independent spirit that even though the value of contents of the film is so unassuming, it brings in both sentimental and intellectual prestige. Directing, editing and storytelling are so plain. Cinematography, lights and sound work, score are out-of-service. There is absolutely no cinematic aspect but the theme. Since it's an independent production we primarily come across to a thorough presentation of this theme. It has been worked up so effectively and is as plausible as a documentary. A great commitment and well-created atmosphere by Courtney Hunt. All actors have done a good job. Might feel boring if not seen for personal view.

We saw this at Sundance and it was one of our favorites. The story of 2 women, both mothers and down-and-out. Melissa Leo portrays a 40-something mom raising 2 boys and dealing with a gambling-addicted husband. Her goal in life is to buy a double-wide, which to her seems luxurious. Her husband has taken off with their meager savings, however, and the goal is out of reach. Misty Upham plays a Native American mom who is dealing with problems of her own. The two team up to smuggle aliens across a frozen river. The story is exciting and well-told. Ms. Leo is a stand out in her portrayal of Ray, and Misty Upham's performance is very good as well.

A well made, if not exactly ground-breaking, entry in the Sundance festival that justly was picked up for distribution although who knows if it will actually make it to the cinemas. The plot concerns a woman trapped by poverty and engaged in people-smuggling in rural upstate New York. I was particularly impressed by actress Melissa Leo in what must be her first central role, which showed a convincing subtlety and range. As a first feature from director Courtney Hunt I thought it showed promise and insight - especially into the reasons people do the bad things they do to survive poverty, and in its neutral but enquiring portrayal of the characters involved in something like human smuggling. Some beautiful photography and memorable performances.

A tight little drama about a poor mother living in upstate New York (Leo) whose louse husband has run off with their savings. She works a crappy job at an All A Dollar and can't get a promotion due to ageism in her workplace. When she goes to look for her husband on the nearby Mohawk reservation, she comes across her car, which was stolen by a Mohawk woman (Upham). The Mohawk woman forces her at gunpoint to go across the frozen river from New York to Canada and bring some illegal immigrants over the border for cash. Though she doesn't want to break the law, the mother realizes this may be her ticket out of the misery she's in. Little does she know that the Mohawk woman has her own legitimate reasons for needing to break the law for some cash. The story was solid, and the acting was, for the most part, spot on. Leo, Upham, and McDermott as the oldest son are extremely capable leads and give passionate performances. The whole thing felt very believable, and Hunt's writing shines in crafting sympathetic and desperate characters. The main complaints I had were a few awkward directorial choices (a few shots seemed a little silly) and the medium on which it was shot: I'm a fan of shooting on high definition video, but this looked a bit amateurish. Still, the story and acting were so compelling that I wasn't bothered much. Hunt's writing talents are so strong, all she needs are a good cinematographer and art director to really take things over the edge. I hope to see more from her.

Stereotypical indie from the sucks-to-be-poor subgenre. Hope I'm not being too glib. It does suck to be poor. I'm nowhere near wealthy myself, and I grew up with a mother under similar circumstances to the protagonist of this film (a little smarter, though; at least she realized that she was eligible for food stamps). I have more than just sympathy for her and people like her. But I am still suspicious of movies like this that lay it on so thick and seem to delight in jerking the audience's emotions around. The story follows a middle-aged woman (Melissa Leo) trying desperately to get by on her meager, part-time wages. Her husband is a thief and gambler, and has stolen the little money she has saved up to buy herself and her two sons a bigger trailer. Up the creek without a paddle, Leo meets up with a Mohawk woman from the nearby reservation (Misty Upham) who introduces her to the lucrative world of smuggling illegal immigrants across the Canadian border. First-time director and screenwriter Courtney Hunt seems to be following some kind of indie film-making book, because she makes sure to hit all the cliché bits. Everything is very predictable; everything that happens in the movie happens for a reason. For instance, every time a radio is on, the weather is reported, which will come back later in the story. The dots are all connected, and there's no room for character or mood building. The tone is pitched at that quiet, supposedly subtle level that so many indies are. The sequence that summarizes the movie is the one where Leo throws a duffel bag out the window of her car on the titular frozen river on a night that the radio, of course, tells us is going to be far below zero, because she's afraid that the Pakistani couple in her trunk might be terrorists. It turns out that their baby was in the bag. Horrible, right? Well, Leo's reaction is, "Well, we'll just have to go back and get it." She's so nonchalant about it, I was sure I must have mistakenly heard "baby". It turns out to be dead. Later, after one of the dozen or so contrivances that drive the film, the baby comes back to life in an apparent miracle. No reaction, at least from Leo. The event ends up changing Upham's outlook on life, but there's no grandiose reaction from her, either. The point is, anyway, that Hunt uses these silly, melodramatic situations which are completely unsubtle, and then she insists with her film-making that her movie is, in fact, subtle. I do have to admit that both Leo and Upham are decent actresses in the movie. I don't think either are award-worthy. It doesn't help that Leo's character often seems so profoundly stupid that it would be easy enough for a privileged audience to dismiss her with, "Well, someone like her deserves to be poor!" I like the attempt Hunt makes in exploring the subtle (and occasionally overt) racism of the white people in the film, but sometimes it feels like she wrote the script without any of it, and someone who read it suggested she add it to give it some more depth. Honestly, if she made it her focus and not just the sideline to the sucks-to-be-poor material, Frozen River would have been a more vital movie. As it is, it's rather poor, and definitely forgettable.

Frozen River is not a glamorous Hollywood film. It's a bleak indie film about struggling to survive. I found it well written with strong performances by Melissa Leo & Charlie McDermott. The movie was very moody with some intense scenes and generated a strong emotional response for me. The setting and simple production worked very well with the atmosphere of the story. And, not to give away anything...the ending is "satisfying" without tying up things impossibly neat or without being too predictable. I feel the current average rating as of writing this review is not close to being appropriate. Perhaps there is some conspiracy as all of the films listed in the Sundance Dramatic Competition have a huge number of 2 ratings, many more 2's than any other rating. It seems a bit weird to be a coincidence that majority of ratings for these new films would all be 2. See for yourself by clicking on the rating details of each of the films listed at: http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Sundance_Film_Festival/2008

Courtney Hunt's début feature, "Frozen River", winner of this year's Sundance's Grand Jury Prize, is as tense as a great thriller should be, and also a heartfelt, poignant drama. Ray Eddy (Melissa Leo) was just abandoned by her druggie husband, having to take care of their two kids and pay for their house alone (otherwise, they'll be evicted). With her minimum wage job at a local store, Ray can't make enough money, but chance will introduce her to a young Mohawk, Lila (Misty Upham), who smuggles illegal immigrants across the frozen St. Lawrence River (between New York State and Québec), and both will be forced to risk a lot in order to get the money they need. Hunt's writing/directing is secure and reveals a very promising talent, but the film's major strength is the extraordinary performances of the lead actresses, in particular Melissa Leo ("21 Grams", "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada"), magnificent character actress turned lead. Totally deglamourized, her screen presence is real, visceral, almost organic. A flawless performance in a great film, that is at once sad, suspenseful and hopeful. It's not every movie that makes you feel for and really care for its characters, but "Frozen River" is one of those rare gems. 10/10.