Ray: I didn't know any other way to keep us together.....I mean he is a good dad...when he is not gambling
T.J.: Yeah...awesome Dad...robs us and takes off a week before Christmas.
So you want that last time to make some quick cash and promise to straighten up after that? Chances are Murphy's laws will catch up with you. Frozen River is a sad tale about two women's struggles set in the Mohawk reservation, an area in upstate New York and partly in Canada from where illegal aliens are smuggled into the territory.
When Ray Eddy's (Melissa Leo) husband disappears leaving her with her two kids, she finds herself strapped for cash to pay off her bills and keep her home. The promotion at the Yankee Dollar Store that has been due since two years also isn't going to happen. She doesn't want her 15 year old elder son to give up his studies and help in earning some income and so it's all left to her to find a way. When she meets Lila (Misty Upham), a native Indian who helps in smuggling people across the border, they partner up to get themselves out of their miseries. The police wouldn't question Ray "since she is white" and they can carry people in the trunk of Ray's car. The relations between the native Indians and the whites become evident as Ray and Lila start off with mutual mistrust and slowly get to help each other out of their desperation. Even though Ray has her own opinions about the Chinese and the Pakistanis trying to smuggle across the border, she is just another embittered woman hardened by her struggles and poverty.
Courtney Hunt's movie on the lives of two women works brilliantly to show us many facets of the lives of people after the crisis and she is helped by some excellent performances from the two lead actors and the rest of the cast too. The weathered face, the creases on her forehead yet the resilience that doesn't want to give a hint of self-pity makes Ray's character as real as the people you'll find in the United States whose lives have been destroyed in recent times. A must-watch.
Rating: 7.5/10
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