Frozen River

I just watched Frozen River. Wow. What a great film. I liked it a lot, but I'm not completely sure I enjoyed it. It took me to a place and a culture I didn't know, I was absorbed in the story, fascinated with the characters, appreciative of the realistic details, and captivated by the fine performances, but I could hardly stand the tension! You spend most of this movie expecting something very bad to happen, and bad things do happen, just not necessarily what you were expecting.

Frozen River was the 2008 Grand Jury prize winner at Sundance, and the lead actress, Melissa Leo, was nominated for an Academy Award. All very deserving. I won't give anything away if you haven't seen it, but I will say that I was very relieved at the end. The end made all the tension worth it. Not that it's necessarily happy, but it is hopeful. I especially enjoyed the performance of the kid who plays the 15 year old son, and also the woman who plays the Mohawk smuggler.