Winter's Bone Comparison

A Novel Idea

The novel Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell follows a young heroine named Ree Dolly who is confronted with the arduous task of saving her family's home. Her father, a methamphetamine cook, has gone missing while out on bail. The bond company is threatening to seize the home if her father cannot be located. Add to this struggle her role as caretaker for a sick mother and two younger siblings and Ree has her hands full. The film of the same name, while telling Ree's story adequately, falls short of conveying the deepness of emotion, important character roles as well as cultural convictions that the author intended.

Films are, by their own limitations, operating within strict parameters. Time constrains their length and budgets constrain the depictions of even the season in which it is set. The season Woodrell chose for the story is integral to any worthy interpretation. In this, the film is found lacking. Winter is depicted, but not with the severity that the story deserves. The movie shows cold but not with the added

voices of drifts, flakes or ice. I realize that this can be costly for any worthwhile production. The choice to forgo this primary theme of the novel has left the viewer disadvantaged. Woodrell, even from the first sentence, alluded to the effect on Ree which the coming of the season held. “Ree Dolly stood at break of day on her cold front steps and smelled coming flurries and saw meat.” (Woodrell 3) This vivid description contained within the text of the first paragraph gives the reader a sense of impending struggle against the elements which are sure to come. The deadline of the forfeited bond looms but the coming harsh season looms as well. By choosing to not include the physical depiction of winter's attributes, the filmmakers missed their mark in translating the story effectively.

Many films have successfully integrated homosexual themes as a method to provoke societal discussion. Winter's Bone is no exception. It is a subtle element, but an element nonetheless. In it's written form, unadulterated by the screenwriters, the author describes a “pseudo-lesbian” relationship between Ree and her best friend Gail. It was important enough for Mr. Woodrell to include yet somehow lost in the film adaptation. The hinting of youthful experimentation between Gail and Ree contained within the book is not what I mean. It is the way in which these characters interact that is relevant. Ree, who is resistant to the world around her, confides in Gail and no one else. Although the women in Ree's family offer a sympathetic tone, they are controlled by masculine fear and offer no solace in any substantial way. The role of Gail in the novel provides a refuge for Ree which is lost to the movie's audience. The choice by the filmmakers to forgo this important relationship between two of the major characters is a disservice to the audience as well as the author.

The film failed to depict the true patriarchal role which Ree has assumed in her family to the extent which Woodrell intended. Her father's absence has left a void that Ree has chosen to fill. This is the role of moral compass, instructor and mentor to her young siblings. Being familiar with Ozark culture himself, Woodrell included allusions to corporal punishment which exist in this micro-society as a method of establishing the importance of lessons being taught. The movie opens with the scene where her younger brother Harold proposes asking Ree if they should enlist the help of a family member who lives across the street. The family is hungry and left without the means to feed themselves. Ree seizes this opportunity in order to teach an important life lesson to the child. “She then looked at Harold, with his easy smile, black hair riffling in the wind, then snatched his nearest ear and twisted until his jaw fell loose and he raised his hand to swat at hers. She twisted until he bore up under the pain and stopped swatting. “Never. Never ask for what ought to be offered.” (Woodrell 5) The filmmakers chose to use the dialogue without including the ear twisting. This illustration of corporal enforcement within Ozark culture is necessary if the audience is to gain a true understanding of the ways in which this culture instructs it's youth. I myself have firsthand experience with this and can speak to the effectiveness of such methods. Growing up I attended church services with my Uncle Russ who hails from Missouri. One Sunday while seated in the pew, I chose to pass a note instead of giving proper attention to the speaker. My Uncle did not hesitate to pinch the top of my thigh, squeeze, and twist mercilessly until tears welled up in my eyes. I doubt if I would be remembering that lesson today if not for the infliction of physical pain which had accompanied it. I am at a loss as to the reason this important societal element was not included in the film. The screen time would have been exactly the same, the graphic nature in the film is established in a much more severe way later on. By choosing to leave out his important cultural belief, the film has done the author, Ozark culture, and ultimately the audience a great disservice.

Filmmakers have a responsibility to translate the work of authors effectively, realistically, and with the intention of imparting the full implications of setting, roles, and culture contained within the text. Somehow this was lost in the process of bringing this wonderful story to the screen. Although telling the story adequately, the film falls short of conveying the deepness of emotion, important character roles as well as many cultural convictions that the author intended.

Works Cited

Woodrell, Daniel. Winter's Bone. 1st ed. New York: Little Brown and, 2006. Print.