Dirty fingernails, a cigarette and a rundown trailer are the introduction we get to Ray (Melissa Leo) a desperate mother of two boys, ages 15 and 5, earning minimum wage. When her husband (the one we haven’t met) takes off and leaves her with the balance due on her dreamy pre-fab house, she must come up with a way to make the $4,372.00 or she loses her $1,500 deposit. Within minutes of watching this film in which her son, T.J. (Charlie McDermott) play daddy to his younger brother, while she works at the Five and Dime, we want to break out our checkbooks. But just before we do, Ray’s path crosses with a Mohawk woman, Lila (Misty Upham) who has a way of smuggling in illegal immigrants from Quebec to upstate New York, where the two women live. Tired of stealing-from-Peter-to-pay-Paul, Ray takes the risk to join her, using her own car, which entails driving across the frozen river, avoiding state troopers, and well, you get the point. As the river freezes, the drama, urgency and feelings of desperation heat up for both the audience and for Ray. Every time a situation heightens to assumed disaster, you’ll find yourself repositioning yourself in your seat for a hopeful near-miss. Grounded in the characters and only the circumstance – no flashy sound effects, big stars or big budget – we are motivated by only Ray’s need to feed and protect her children. Melissa Leo deserves to carry this film and does, with the weight of a love that only a mother could understand. Oscar contender hands down. Four tiaras
