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Analysis Report: Winter’s Bone (2010)

Background

The movie Winter’s Bone is a 2010 independent film adaptation of Daniel

Woodrell’s novel with the same name. It was directed by Debra Granik, and the

screenplay was written by Granik and Anne Rosellini. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence,

John Hawkes and Garret Dillahunt. Michael McDonough did the cinematography for the

film and Affonso Goncalves edited it. Dickon Hinchliffe did the music for Winter’s

Bone. Anonymous Content and Winter’s Bone Productions produced the film and

Roadside Attractions distributed it in the US. Winter’s Bone won several awards and was

nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Actress and Best Picture.

Synopsis

Ree Dolly’s meth addict father hasn’t been around for a while, and Ree is left to

take care of her mother and her two younger siblings. Her father is due for a court date,

and Ree is told that if he doesn’t show up their house will be taken from them. Ree

decides to try and find her father. She tries to get her uncles help but he tells her to leave

the situation alone. The court date passes, and Ree tells the sheriff that he father must be

dead. The sheriff needs proof, so Ree sets out to find proof. She gets severely beaten up

by the wife of Thump, a crime boss. A few days later, Thump’s wife comes to Ree’s

house. She offers to show her were her father’s bones are. They go to a lake where they

find his bones and cut both of his hands off. Ree brings the bones to the sheriff, and she is

able to keep the house.

Music Cues Table (Italic is title of track) Scene/Track Scene Description Music/Tone/Time

Opening Titles

Missouri Waltz-Marideth Sisco

Kids are playing of the trampoline/front porch and Ree is doing chores

-folk/country -a cappella -establishing the setting of the move(the Ozarks)

0:00:00-00:01:36

Cooking Dinner Ree is waking the kids up and cooking dinner. Ree takes care of her mother

-source/diegetic music -Radio talkshow/music

0:01:41-0:03:38

Chopping Wood Ree is chopping firewood while listening to her headphones.

-source/diegetic music -Ree’s headphones playing music

0:06:55-0:07:15

Visit from the Law

I’ll Find Him- Dickon Hinchliffe

The sheriff tells Ree her dad is due in court; if he doesn’t show up they will take the house. He put it up as bail.

-soft/low string instruments -begins to get louder -light banjo picking

0:09:00-0:10:04

Visiting a friend Ree goes to tell her friend about her dad and asked to borrow her car. She says no.

-source/diegetic music -screamo/rock music -fades in and out when the door is open/closed

0:11:49-0:14:25

Visiting Uncle Teardrop Ree visits Teardrop to ask if he knows where her father is. He tells her no and grabs her forcefully.

- low brass tone -slow and quiet

0:16:33-0:18:08

Walking/Visit to Arthur Ree is walking to Little Arthur’s place. She asks Megan if she knows where he is. Arthur says he hasn’t seen him and tells her to leave.

-low brass tones -bells/wind chimes ringing -eerie/frightening tone

0:18:49-0:22:50

Visiting Thump

The Search for Thump- Dickon Hinchliffe

Ree goes to Thump’s house. His wife answers and says he doesn’t want to talk. His wife tells Ree to leave.

-low brass tones -banjo picking -eerie tone -leaves rustling

0:23:30-0:25:59

Visiting April

High on a Mountain- Marideth Sisco & Blackberry Winter

Ree goes to visit a friend of her dad’s, April. April tells Ree that she saw him a few weeks ago and he looked like he was in trouble.

-source/diegetic music -a bunch of people playing folk/country music

0:35:37-0:37:55

Rodeo

The Auction- Dickon Hinchliffe

Ree visits a rodeo, where she sees Thump. She tries to go after him

-soft violins playing quietly -continues to get louder and louder -banjo is added in

0:50:07-0:52:06

Beating from Thump’s Women

Is This Our Time- Dickon Hinchliffe

Ree goes to Thump’s house where his wife and two other women beat her up.

-very soft and slow -low brass tones

0:52:18-0:55:50

Talking with Teardrop Teardrop and Ree are talking in his truck. He tells her if she finds out who killed Jessup, she shouldn’t tell him.

-low brass tones -soft and quiet -high pitched violin

0:59:17-0:59:50

Squirrels A black and white video of trees being cut down with squirrels jumping around the trees.

-low brass tones -high pitched violins -frightening sounding

1:02:59-1:03:55

Bar scene Ree and Teardrop go to a bar.

-source/diegetic music -country western band is playing in the background

1:08:30-1:11:07

Cemetery Ree and Teardrop go to a cemetery to see if Jessup is buried anywhere there.

-soft banjo picking -high pitched flute -low brass tone

1:12:19-1:12:59

Teardrop, Ree and the Sheriff

Ree and Teardrop get pulled over by the sheriff, and he wants Teardrop to get out of the car. Teardrop refuses to get out of the car and drives away.

-soft/low brass sounds -very quiet

1:14:10-1:15:55

Looking through photos Ree and her mom are going through photos of her dad when he was younger. She shows her siblings the pictures too.

-source/diegetic music -a radio is playing country western music in the background.

1:17:25-1:18:40

Playing in the fields Ree’s younger siblings are playing on hay wheels in the yard

-loud banjo picking -mandolin is also being played

1:18:41-1:19:20

Finding Jessup

The Lake- Dickon Hinchliffe

Thump’s wife takes Ree out on a canoe to find Jessup’s bones in the water. Ree reaches into the water and lifts his arms up. They cut his hands off.

-low brass tones -violin and guitar -high pitch flute -some kind of horn -ghostly and scary tone

1:22:16-1:26:33

Playing the Banjo

Bred and Buttered- John Hawkes

Teardrop plays the banjo on Ree’s front porch. Sonny, Ree and Ashley all watch him.

-source/diegetic music -he is picking the banjo

1:31:25-1:32:18

General Description of the Score and Did it Work

Winter’s Bone was full of music that sounded like it came straight out of the

Ozarks. Dickon Hinchliffe used a variety of instruments to achieve this sound, like banjo,

mandolin, violin and guitar. The score was consistent through out the whole film. The

main differences between the different themes used for the different scenes were the

banjo picking speed and the violin.

Dickon Hinchliffe did a wonderful job scoring this film. The music was placed in

all of the right scenes. The tempo and tone used in each of the scenes did a great job of

creating stress and concern for what was going to happen next. Hinchliffe wanted to

capture the sound of the Ozarks. I think he did an amazing job of combining his score

with the occasional song by folk artist Marideth Sisco to create the perfect soundtrack for

this film.

Conclusion

Winter’s Bone was an independent film that became successful with critics and

was released to theaters nationwide. That doesn’t happen very often for independent

films. Without Dickon Hinchliffe’s score for this movie, it wouldn’t have felt complete.

He did a great job at tying the story together through music. He created a unique score

Ashley plays the Banjo Teardrop leaves and Ree tells the kids she isn’t going to leave. Ashley grabs their dad’s banjo and randomly starts strumming it.

-source/diegetic music -she strums the banjo

1:34:15-1:34:53

End Credits

Farther Along(Piano)- Marideth Sisco and Craig Klein

End Credits End Credits

1:34:53-End

that perfectly embodied Ree’s struggle to find her father. Hinchliffe’s soundtrack,

combined with the Debra Granik’s directing and all of the amazing performances by the

actors make a brilliant film that I would recommend to everyone.

Filmography- Dickon Hinchliffe

Shadow Dancer (2012) Rampart (2011) Texas Killing Fields (2011) Project Nim (2011) Passion Play (2010) Lennon Naked (2010) Winter’s Bone (2010) Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1980 (2009) Cold Souls (2009) Last Chance Harvey (2008) Married Life (2007) Mercy (2007) The Red Veil (2006) Keeping Mum (2005) Forty Shades of Blue (2005) Friday Night (2002) Trouble Every Day (2001) Nenette et Boni (1996)

Works Cited

"Dickon Hinchliffe - Composer." Dickon Hinchliffe. Web. 17 Mar. 2012. <http://www.dickon-hinchliffe.com/>.

"Dickon HinchliffeWinter's Bone - Original Score." Winter's Bone Original Score. Web. 17 Mar. 2012. <http://lightintheattic.net/releases/508-winter-s-bone-original-score>.

"Winter's Bone." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 17 Mar. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1399683/>.