Frozen River

Frozen River, written and directed by Courtney Hunt, is one of those bleak indie films that are often buzzed about at film festivals. I'm glad to say this one survives the hype, as it is a clear-eyed look at those who live on the margin, and despite wandering into excessive melodrama at times, is an effective drama that examines the issues that confront people who are desperate to get ahead.

At the center of the story is Melissa Leo, a resident of a small town in upstate New York. As the film begins her husband has left, absconding with money that is meant for a double-wide trailer. Though the husband never appears, he is an omnipresent character, a compulsive gambler who has left Leo with two sons, one fifteen and one five. She barely makes a living as a clerk at a dollar store.

When she tracks down her husband's car, it's in the possession of a Mohawk woman, Misty Upton. When Upton tells her about someone who will buy the car, Leo is led across the frozen-over St. Lawrence River and ends up smuggling illegal immigrants into the U.S. As I type this, I realize this may sound outlandish, but Hunt manages to make this scene work. Leo realizes it's pretty good money, and she and Upton, who is viewed with scorn by the other members of the reservation, make an unlikely team.

There are all sorts of issues addressed in this film: illegal immigration, the lives of Indians on the reservation, and most of all, crushing poverty. There are several heartbreaking moments in the film, and most of them deal with people who have to do without, whether it's Christmas presents or Upton's son, who is being raised by her ex-mother-in-law. If these characters are down and out, though, Hunt doesn't hammer them mercilessly--she seems reluctant to be too mean to them. A scene involving an acetylene torch, for example, which might have ended in disaster, has an unexpected outcome.

At times the film does overreach, particularly in a scene involving a baby in jeopardy that belongs in a TV movie-of-the-week. But I liked this film a lot, and it has some fine performances. If the Hollywood Oscar bait is slim pickings this year, Leo should be in the mix for a nomination, and as her older son Charlie McDermott gives a very assured performance as a boy who idolizes his father but realizes he has been let down. A lot of good work here all around.