Frozen River DVD Review

Published by Jeff Leins on February 9, 2009

Frozen River is a cold, harsh movie, but what it lacks in popcorn entertainment it makes up for in authentic emotion and stellar storytelling.  The film’s difficult theme (the necessary pursuit of money) presents lasting moral dilemmas for the characters and the audience, but the reality of the country’s own financial situation lurks under the timely story.  When the tears flow or the credits roll, you’ll ask yourself what you would be willing to do to survive in the cold, harsh world.

The opening introduces Ray Eddy (played to perfection by Melissa Leo), a desperate mother struggling to provide for her family during financial crisis.  An extreme close-up captures the haggard look of a weary woman, whose burdens are apparent under her eyes as she draws on a cigarette to ease the stress.  Her gambling addict husband (who we never see) has just fled with the money Ray had been saving to buy a new double-wide trailer for her two children.  Ray feeds them with change she finds in the couch cushions or whatever she can scrape together from her entry-level job at the local store.  With Christmas just days away, she is out of options.

Leo’s compelling performance drives the drama along and is the real reason to see this movie.  She may be the long shot for the “Best Actress” Academy Award, but Leo deserves the recognition and the accolades she’s receiving.

In the hopeless search for her absentee husband, Ray finds his car being driven by an Indian bingo employee named Lila Littlewolf (Misty Upham).  Lila planned to use the vehicle for its roomy trunk, a handy container for smuggling illegal immigrants from Canada into the States across a stretch of the frozen St. Lawrence River.  At first Ray accompanies her on a run as a way of recovering her car, but when she counts the money forked over for the perilous drive, the desperate mother sees an opportunity to better the lives of her family.

During each treacherous journey across uneasy ice, Lila warms to Ray and explains her own situation.  Her one-year-old baby was taken from her by Mohawk officials concerned about Littlewolf’s ability to provide.  Lila saves to one day prove to the Indian counsel that she’s a fit mother for her child, but she’s been arrested before and another strike would mean abandoning her family and her tribe.

Writer/director Courtney Hunt shows tremendous talent in her first feature film.  The small independent movie with an even smaller scope is a massive career achievement for the filmmaker and a second, much-deserved Oscar nomination shines some healthy light on this bleak story.  After winning the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, time has only made the theme more relevant and thought-provoking.

4 out of 5.