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Rent Frozen River ASAP

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Rent Frozen River ASAP

POSTED: Monday, February 9, 2009, 2:52 PM

Carrie Rickey, Film Critic

Misty Upham and Melissa Leo in "Frozen River."

"Frozen River," now available on DVD, is one of the great movies of 2008, winning both a lead actress Oscar nomination for Melissa Leo and an original screeplay bid for writer/director Courtney Hunt. It's rare to watch a feature film and mistake it for a documentary, but such are the skills of rookie filmmaker Hunt and her extraordinary actresses Leo and Misty Upham, that I felt that I was in the skin and the shoes of these Upstate New York single moms making a living in the underground economy. Because the film was released during the summer dog days, many missed "Frozen River" when it was in theaters.

See it? Thoughts?Use this thread to talk about what Oscar nominees you've liked and what you're looking forward to seeing.

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Comments (3)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:40 AM, 02/10/2009

Carrie, I realize that the Oscars are more about commerce than actual artistic achievement but, still, I'm heartened by the facts that both Leo and Richard Jenkins (for "The Visitor") manage to make the grade. The Academy's united appreciation of their work (seen by too few people, including some Academy members presumably) restores my faith in the system. True, neither is likely to win (although Leo just might surprise people and eke her way to the top), but so what! It's just too bad that Missy Upham wasn't cited. She gave a truly memorable performance in FR, much more so than Amy Adams' work in "Doubt."

— Pash

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:35 AM, 02/10/2009

Melissa Leo is one of those actors doing impressive work over the years, but it has taken her a while before she found the right vehicle to showcase her talents. And Courtney Hunt must be mentioned, not just for her talent, but for her tenacity and her vision: she was a first-time writer-director, yet she stuck with the project (which always featured Leo and Misty Upham) and brought it to an impressive conclusion. I'm very glad that there has been some recognition for Leo, and i hope this brings more attention to the film now that it's out on DVD. Though there are a lot of people who bemoan the plethora of independent productions, when a work of the quality of FROZEN RIVER emerges, it makes it seem that independent productions can still be worthwhile.

— darylchin53

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:28 PM, 02/11/2009

I was surprised and pleased to see Robert Downey nominated for his work in "Tropic Thunder." It's so rare for any comedy work to receive recognition from the Academy that a nomination almost feels like an award. It would have been nice to see Jeff Bridges nominated for his subtle and commanding work in "Iron Man," but that oversight doesn't surprise me: Oscar doesn't seem very fond of either sci-fi or Jeff.

— wwolfe