“Frozen River” chills to the bone.
It’s depressing enough that summer is officially over as of this weekend. Especially given that, I’m not sure you’ll want to be reminded right now of winter’s icy grayness.
Not only is this personal drama set on a snowy tundra in upstate New York near the Canadian border, it deals in the ugliness of lower-class deprivation. Sadder yet, the character-driven saga unfolds with the approach of Christmas, a Christmas season replete with spousal desertion, infant hypothermia, human trafficking and pending foreclosure.
Pass the eggnog?
The picture won the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and, in technical terms, it is noteworthy. But ironically, because director-writer Courtney Hunt and her leading lady, Melissa Leo, conjure this bleak world so palpably and powerfully — because the sense of place and main performance evoke such realism — it makes “Frozen River” even more unpleasant to experience.
More to be admired than enjoyed, the piece rings with timely relevance as it uses one small slice of life to illuminate the futile struggles of the working poor in today’s America. You can’t help but think of the gloomy economic headlines when you learn the plight of the protagonist, Ray (Leo).
Her gambling-addict husband has stolen their measly savings and deserted her and her two young sons again. This leaves Ray without the means to make the final balloon payment to secure a new trailer for the family before she will forfeit the down payments. Their current trailer is nearly collapsing around them, and Ray’s part-time job at a local discount store is a low-paying dead end.
Ray encounters the similarly desperate Lila (Misty Upham), a young Native American mother trying to gather the funds to be able to take back custody of the baby she has been unable to support. Even though Lila was trying to steal Ray’s car when they met, Lila presents an opportunity to Ray that she can’t resist. They can earn hundreds of dollars using Ray’s spacious car trunk to smuggle illegal, indentured immigrants over the frozen river and across the border.
The crossings become increasingly perilous as the wary pair eventually bonds. You can’t help but be moved by this unlikely friendship or by the meager blessings of a most unsentimental yuletide. But wade into the rough “River” with caution.
(Quick info: 3 out of 5 Stars; Stars — Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott; Director — Courtney Hunt; Rated R for some language; Running Time — 96 minutes)
