The Best Movie of the Year?

Winter's Bone (2010)
Directed by: Debra Granik
Written by: Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence & John Hawkes

I hate to declare this already, but I may have seen the best movie of 2010. It is wonderfully acted, directed, and scripted. It is one of the first movies in a long time that has managed to be both thrilling and at the same take up the call of "social realism." Winter's Bone is truly one of the best American movies I have seen in a very long time. It is as close to the Italian Neo-Realist movement as any movie I have seen that has come from the United States.
Winter's Bone tells the story of Rhee Dolly, a 17 year old who is caring for her younger brother and sister. Her mother is catatonic and spends most of her days sitting on an Eazy-Boy in their house in rural Missouri. Rhee's father has been arrested for cooking crystal meth and in order to post bond, he put the house up as bond. If her father does not come to court, they will be evicted. So, Rhee sets out to find her father and save her house and family. What ensues can only be described as an odyssey through the bizarre and not often seen world of middle America.
I cannot sing this movie's praises enough. It is well shot, well-edited, and well-directed. And from what I can tell, it looks as if Jennifer Lawrence may be the first serious actress of her generation. Whether or not she continues on that path, remains to be seen. This is a movie that I hope is seen by as many people as possible.