Set in one of the closed, inbred communities (this one specializes in making "crank" aka methamphetamine) in the Ozarks where everyone is distantly related and which has their own rules and laws that protect their own, the film follows a 17 year old girl's (Jennifer Lawrence) journey to find her father after he fails to show up for his court date and she finds out that the family home was put up as collateral. If she can't find her father, she (and her mother and two siblings) lose the family home which is all they have. Director Debra Granik does an amazing job of taking us into this strange backwoods world that doesn't live by ordinary rules. Whoever was responsible for the casting did an incredible job. With the exception of the two leads, Jennifer Lawrence (it doesn't help that Lawrence has blonde highlights, was there an upscale beauty parlor nearby?) and John Hawkes, who come across as actors (which doesn't negate their fine work), the authenticity of the rest of the cast is startling. You can believe these are real mountain people, not actors. The movie doesn't condescend to these people like so many Hollywood films do. It respects them even when it bares their dirty secrets.
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