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01.20.08
Sundance 2008: "Frozen River."
Melissa Leo has a great face that looks like it's been crumpled into a ball and hastily smoothed back out again. It gets plenty of play in "Frozen River," the debut feature from writer/director Courtney Hunt — the camera wanders pore-delvingly close to take in her chapped skin, the creasing around her eyes and her Sisyphean attempts to pretty up by applying mascara while still crying. Leo does as much as she can with the role of Ray Eddy, who works at a dollar store in upstate New York, dreams of trading in her single-wide trailer for a double-wide, obtains her TV from Rent-2-Own, feeds her two kids meals of Tang and popcorn and likes waving around her gun and shooting things, including the trailers of others and the foot of her gambling-addicted hubby, who's fled with all of the family's savings before the film begins. How many white trash stereotypes can one woman contain? Ray starts up a tense partnership with a sullen Mohawk woman (Misty Upham) on the nearby reservation, and the two drive illegal immigrants across the winter ice from Canada. "Frozen River" is adapted from a short, and you can see the promise in it and its world of rundown desperation. In its expanded form, though, it's a scattering of unbelievable elements — included a nigh-unforgivable one involving an infant imperiled by a combination of racism and a sudden impulse of citizenship — and a perspective that flirts with condescension.
"Frozen River" currently has no U.S. distribution.
+ "Frozen River" (Sundance)
+ "Frozen River" (Official site)
Comments
How completely rude and unnecessary. Melissa Leo is an amazing actor and you are bringing this down to the level of a tabloid.
Posted by: Elle | Jan 23, 2008 4:53:13 PM
I just got out of this film at Sundance. I paid $32 for my wife and I to go, and it was awful in our opinions. We both considered leaving, and didn't know each other had the same urge.
I saw Troubled Water the night before which was super great. Seriously. Same with 'Kicking It.'
I cannot believe how a film like Frozen River gets into Sundance, let alone wins the dramatic grand prize.
From the very first scene it was clear this would be bad, transparent acting with dialog that sounded read off of an awful script.
The plot didn't make up for it, and there wasn't a single character I cared about in it. Everyone tried to over act, making lines that needn't be spoken angry come out one after the other.
I applaud the effort of making a film, it's hard work, but I am still in disbelief. And I wasn't the only one, since half the theater got up and wanted to run for the door before the director came in to steal another 30 mins. from our lives.
Didn't anyone look at the dailies for this show to spot the bad acting, or spot the lack of character development to evoke any empathy from the viewers?
In a day when Hollywood cranks out sequels, remakes and reality shows to no end, it is no wonder my wife and I have to resort to NetFlix, and foreign films that are character driven more often than not...whether it's new films like Dans Paris, or old ones like Breathless, Elevator to the Gallows, Jean de Florette/Manon of Spring, etc. KEEP SUNDANCE GOOD since so many like us depend on it.
Posted by: Don | Jan 27, 2008 10:33:52 PM
I just got out of this film at Sundance. I paid $32 for my wife and I to go, and it was awful in our opinions. We both considered leaving, and didn't know each other had the same urge.
I saw Troubled Water the night before which was super great. Seriously. Same with 'Kicking It.'
I cannot believe how a film like Frozen River gets into Sundance, let alone wins the dramatic grand prize.
From the very first scene it was clear this would be bad, transparent acting with dialog that sounded read off of an awful script.
The plot didn't make up for it, and there wasn't a single character I cared about in it. Everyone tried to over act, making lines that needn't be spoken angry come out one after the other.
I applaud the effort of making a film, it's hard work, but I am still in disbelief. And I wasn't the only one, since half the theater got up and wanted to run for the door before the director came in to steal another 30 mins. from our lives.
Didn't anyone look at the dailies for this show to spot the bad acting, or spot the lack of character development to evoke any empathy from the viewers?
In a day when Hollywood cranks out sequels, remakes and reality shows to no end, it is no wonder my wife and I have to resort to NetFlix, and foreign films that are character driven more often than not...whether it's new films like Dans Paris, or old ones like Breathless, Elevator to the Gallows, Jean de Florette/Manon of Spring, etc. KEEP SUNDANCE GOOD since so many like us depend on it.
Posted by: Don | Jan 27, 2008 10:35:51 PM
Fuck you Don. It was good enough for Tarantino. Get some taste.
Posted by: Grant | Feb 8, 2008 2:07:11 AM
Enjoyed the film, it had flaws but also had tremendous strengths. Yes it was little over the top in places and I too doubt a baby in a gym bag feels like clothes, and Eddy was a little wild with her gun, but it kept our little traveling groups attention and we had no regrets seeing it. Good luck to all who worked hard on a small budget to show us a slice of life that many of us on America's Indian Reservations know exists. We applaud Sundance for showing it.Whether it deserved the grand prize is unknown to us since we did not see all of the competition. The film is well worth seeing and I hope the folks who hated it so much get their chance to show all of us struggling filmakers and dreamers what they (Don and wife) can do besides try to sound intelligent. Maybe if you were like us and stood in the poh folk line and paid the $10.00 ticket, because going to Sundance is financially tough for many of us, you'd not bleat so bitter.
Posted by: Mark | Feb 10, 2008 12:30:54 PM
a film like tis wins at sundance because the producers are on the selection committee.
Posted by: the phantom | Feb 13, 2008 2:40:20 PM
