The story centres on Ray Eddy, a single mother who is struggling to make payments on her new trailer house that she is trying desperately to buy to keep her sons warm in the harsh winter. With a dead end job that is paying her next to nothing and the bills piling up (one for a massive plasma TV screen that pretty much looks after her children) Ray happens to meet Lila Littlewolf a mohawk bingo hall employee who takes Ray's car after she claims she found it in the car park. Eventually the two pair up and enter the dangerous world of people smuggling across St. Lawerence between America and Canada.
After seeing "The Fighter" (2010), another film starring Melissa Leo, I was curious to see her Oscar nominated performance in this movie. Along with her nomination, Hunt was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
I am kind of sensing a trend in the movies I am watching, misery fests that offer no real happiness. The film is no different. Needless to say Ray gets in some serious shit as she struggles to make the payments for her new house. With her eldest son at home sick and tired of eating tang and popcorn, Ray is desperate to make one last run to get her family out of the shit and finally live the life they had before her husband left with all their savings.
For a first time director, Courtney Hunt really captures the environment of St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. There is a real sense of isolation in these surroundings, and what interested me about this film was how it plays with racial differences between the "white" and native inhabitants of the land. The sense of urgency and desperation by the two women is perfectly portrayed and combined with the cinematography and gritty realism of its location, Frozen River is an intense and unforgiving thriller.
If you were lucky enough to see last years incredible "Winter's Bone", I'd totally recommend this film... And if you like depressing cold films... then this is a winner! Melissa Leo is amazing.
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