Frozen River

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Dennis B Well acted and super realistic movie. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/17/24 Full Review Mark K The movie's pace was slow but I believe that was intentional and worked well. The story unfolded smoothly. The director excelled, and the acting suited the film perfectly. I highly recommend it. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/18/23 Full Review Tom S A lot of times human interest stories are boring. This was strong on performances & realistic dialogue. In 2023 the Chinese just walk across the border in great numbers & get all the benefits our veterans don't get. Maybe an update movie needs to be made. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Upon a frozen river lies an uncertain path This is one of those rare indie movies that depicts poverty from a certain angle It exists everywhere but in some ways is worse for people Director Courtney Hunt with Melissa Leo and Misty Upham Ray Eddy is abandoned by her husband and she’s virtually broke, she must find a way to make some money After running into a Mohawk woman she stumbles into the business of smuggling people across the border from Canada It’s good money but how long before Ray sees it’s just plain wrong? One of the women even makes a statement there’s no border in this business more like free trade between nations This movie presents itself as an honest portrayal of dark trials in motherhood A very human tale about desperation while also facing the barriers emotional and criminal Even the American dream can push us-rich and poor alike The film works thanks to Leo’s performance and the sheer coldness of the environment she’s been forced into making icy decisions serving a rich character study This shows that a mother will go above and beyond the law to save her children even if it’s a dirty money maker Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/03/23 Full Review s r A low budget film that kept my interest, but the stupidity of the writing brought it down. Saw it on HBO. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review ronald h Wow. Frozen River is riveting, hard core reality, thanks to the stunning, tightly controlled performance of Melissa Leo. And her co-star, Missy Upham, turns in one of the best performances of her tragically short career. Leo is Ray, a single mom raising five year old and a 15 year-old sons. They live in upstate New York, near the Quebec border and the Mohawk reservation. Ray works at a dollar store and barely keeps food on the table in her dilapidated trailer, thanks to an ex husband who gambled away their scant savings---including the down payment money for a new double wide trailer. He then ran off, leaving his wife and kids to fend for themselves in the sub-zero winter. When Lila (Upton), a young native American woman with her own troubles, tries to steal Ray's car, Ray catches her and they start an uneasy relationship. It turns out that Lila is involved in smuggling illegals across a frozen river into the U.S. Every shipment of two passengers in the trunk of a car pays $1,200. She tricks Ray into driving the first two illegals, but desperate for cash, Ray agrees to do it again, and again. It all sounds very gloomy and depressing. But it's so well scripted and acted, we really come to care about these two women and their kids. Leo and Upham are perfect together. A lesser script would have over-dramatized their relationship with "bonding" and mutual empathy, but for these two, it's all business. Lila keeps reminding Ray that she's white, so the Highway Patrol isn't likely to stop her. Their verbal exchanges are terse and dispassionate, but they do share one thing: the need to escape poverty. Both of them want to get out of the smuggling business, but Ray needs one last run to come up with the down payment on her double wide. The last run, however, goes badly wrong. The ending is bittersweet, but the humanity of this film is strong. It's actually humbling. Filmmaker Courtney Hunt controls the mood, the setting, and the action with a sure hand. Frozen River is far better than most of the high budget, contrived Hollywood trash we're subjected to nowadays. It's another gem to add to my list of great indie films. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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