Frozen River
Frozen River | |
---|---|
Directed by | Courtney Hunt |
Written by | Courtney Hunt |
Produced by | Heather Rae Chip Hourihan |
Starring | Melissa Leo Misty Upham Charlie McDermott Michael O'Keefe Mark Boone Junior |
Cinematography | Reed Morano |
Edited by | Kate Willams |
Music by | Peter Golub Shahzad Ali Ismaily |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 97 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Languages | English French Chinese Urdu |
Budget | $1 million |
Box office | $6 million [2] |
Frozen River is a 2008 American
Frozen River premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2008, where it won the Grand Jury Prize. Following a limited release on August 1, 2008, the film opened in theatres on September 5, 2008, to critical acclaim, with particular praise for Leo's performance and Hunt's direction. The film earned several accolades, including the Bronze Horse at the 2008 Stockholm International Film Festival. At the 81st Academy Awards, Leo was nominated for Best Actress and Hunt was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
Plot
The film is set shortly before
Ray's older son T.J. wants to find a job and help support the family so they can afford to eat something more substantial than
Because the women's route takes them from an Indian reservation in the US to an Indian reserve in Canada, they hope to avoid detection by local law-enforcement. However, their problems escalate when they are asked to smuggle a Pakistani couple and Ray, fearful their duffel bag might contain explosives, leaves it behind in sub-freezing temperatures, only to discover it contained their infant baby when they arrive at their destination. She and Lila retrace their route and find the bag and the baby, which Lila insists is dead, but which she revives moments before being reunited with the baby's parents. The experience leaves her shaken, and she announces she no longer wants to participate in the smuggling operation. But Ray, needing just one more crossing to finance the down payment on her mobile home, coerces her into joining her for one last journey.
They pick up two Asian women from a strip club for crossing. When the club owner tries to short them, Ray successfully threatens him with a gun. When she is re-entering her car, the irate club owner retaliates by shooting Ray in the ear. Shaken, her fast and erratic driving catches the attention of the provincial police. Ray tries to elude capture by crossing the frozen river where one of the wheels of the car breaks through the ice. The four women abandon the vehicle and take refuge at the Indian reservation.
Because the police are demanding a scapegoat, the tribal head decides to excommunicate Lila for five years due to her smuggling history which involved the death of her Mohawk husband. Surprised then saddened by the news, Ray gives in to Lila's pleas to go free for the sake of her children. However, running through the woods, Ray has a fit of conscience and returns. Ray gives her share of money to Lila with instructions for taking care of her (Ray's) sons and seeing through the purchase plans for a mobile home. Ray and the illegal immigrants are surrendered to the police and a trooper speculates she will have to serve four months in jail. Ray calls her son T.J. to explain what has happened.
Lila pushes her way into her mother-in-law's home and reclaims her infant son. She and the baby show up at the Eddy trailer while T.J. is still on the phone with his jailed mother. In a day scene, T.J. completes the welding of a bicycle-propelled carousel bearing his younger brother and Lila's strapped in baby. He pedals the carousel while Lila smiles on. A truck nears carrying the new mobile home.
Cast
- Melissa Leo as Ray Eddy
- Misty Upham as Lila Littlewolf
- Charlie McDermott as Troy "T.J." Eddy, Jr.
- Michael O'Keefe as State Trooper Finnerty
- Mark Boone Junior as Jacques Bruno
- James Reilly as Ricky Eddy
- Dylan Carusona as Jimmy
- Jay Klaitz as Guy Versailles
- Michael Sky as Billy Three Rivers
- John Canoe as Bernie Littlewolf
Production
In an interview screenwriter/director Courtney Hunt conducted shortly before the film's release, she discussed its prevalent theme of a mother's love for her children being a culturally universal trait. She stated the most important moment in her life was the birth of her daughter and how that event made all her other goals lesser priorities. By showing how such intimacy knows no bounds, culturally or socially, Hunt said she hoped her film would enable audiences to break down their assumptions about others around them.[3]
Hunt's husband is from
Release
The
Critical reception
Critical reception for the film was very positive. Frozen River has an approval rating of 88% on
Awards and nominations
Year | Ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | 13th Satellite Awards | Top 10 Films | Frozen River | Nominated |
Best Film - Drama | Frozen River | Nominated | ||
Best Actress - Drama | Melissa Leo | Nominated | ||
Best Screenplay - Original | Courtney Hunt | Nominated | ||
14th Critics' Choice Awards | Best Actress | Melissa Leo | Nominated | |
15th Screen Actors Guild Awards | Best Female Actor in a Leading Role | Melissa Leo | Nominated | |
24th Independent Spirit Awards | Best Feature | Frozen River | Nominated | |
Best Director | Courtney Hunt | Nominated | ||
Best Female Lead | Melissa Leo | Won | ||
Best Supporting Male | Charlie McDermott | Nominated | ||
Best Supporting Female | Misty Upham | Nominated | ||
Best First Screenplay | Courtney Hunt | Nominated | ||
81st Academy Awards | Best Actress | Melissa Leo | Nominated | |
Best Original Screenplay | Courtney Hunt | Nominated | ||
2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Actress | Melissa Leo | Nominated | |
2008 National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Actress | Melissa Leo | Nominated | |
2008 New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best First Film | Frozen River | Won | |
Best Actress | Melissa Leo | Nominated | ||
American Indian Film Festival | Best Supporting Actress | Misty Upham | Won | |
Central Ohio Film Critics Association | Best Actress | Melissa Leo | Won | |
Best Supporting Actress | Misty Upham | Nominated | ||
Best Screenplay - Original | Courtney Hunt | Nominated | ||
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2008 | Best Actress | Melissa Leo | Nominated | |
Most Promising Filmmaker | Courtney Hunt | Nominated | ||
Detroit Film Critics Society | Best Actress | Melissa Leo | Nominated | |
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2008 | Best Actress | Melissa Leo | Won | |
Gotham Independent Film Awards 2008 | Best Feature | Frozen River | Won | |
Breakthrough Actor
|
Melissa Leo | Won | ||
Houston Film Critics Society Awards 2008 | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Melissa Leo | Nominated | |
Marrakech International Film Festival | Best Actress | Melissa Leo | Won | |
National Board of Review Awards 2008 | Top Independent Films | Frozen River | Nominated | |
Best Directorial Debut | Courtney Hunt | Won | ||
Stockholm International Film Festival | Best Film | Frozen River | Won | |
Sundance Film Festival | Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic | Frozen River | Won | |
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2008 | Best First Feature | Frozen River | Nominated | |
Utah Film Critics Association Awards 2008 | Best Actress | Melissa Leo | Won | |
Best Supporting Actress | Misty Upham | Nominated |
Home media
Frozen River was released in
References
- ^ "FROZEN RIVER (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2012-11-22.
- ^ "Frozen River (2008) - Financial Information".
- ^ "Zoom-In.com interview". Archived from the original on 2008-09-22. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ Silverstein, Melissa (2008-08-09). "Interview with Courtney Hunt, Director of Frozen River". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
- ^ Times Union, July 25, 2008[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Filming the Frozen River". NCPR. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
- ^ BoxOfficeMojo.com
- ^ "Frozen River". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Frozen River". Metacritic.
- ^ Metacritic 2008 Film Critic Top Ten Lists Archived January 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ebert, Roger. "Frozen River Movie Review & Film Summary (2008) | Roger Ebert". rogerebert.suntimes.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
External links
- Frozen River at IMDb
- Frozen River at AllMovie
- Frozen River at Box Office Mojo
- Frozen River at Rotten Tomatoes
- Frozen River at Metacritic