Winter’s Bone Close-Up (“Squirrel Dream” Sequence)

Key Elements:

Cinematography –

The scene is shot entirely differently to the rest of it, done in black and white and in a smaller 4 by 3 aspect ratio, with a grainy, vintage video quality that evokes the aesthetic of a documentary or home video. This creates a surrealistic, intimate feel to the scene. The scene feels real, yet surreal and metaphoric.

The camera movements in the scene are disorienting, moving randomly and shaking. A worms eye view and an arch shot around a tree trunk put us in the squirrels POV, evoking the sense of panic and rushing momentum of the scene, also helping us understand the fear that the squirrel has.

Ominous imagery like burning woods and a canted angle shot of vultures disregarding their carrion create a gloomy atmosphere and imply that danger is encroaching on Ree’s life at a rapid pace, and that she cannot do anything about it. This is also seen in the shot of the squirrel clinging onto its tree, it’s gone, protectively, played before a wide shot shows the woods burning up, conveying a sense of finality and doom.

Sound –

A loud, imposing and disorienting diegetic sound of chainsaws dominates the sound mix, putting the viewer on edge, as it does the squirrel. It evokes a feeling of impending doom, emphasises by the images of fire and the frantic squirrel, as if the animal, representing Ree, is being closed in on by threatening forces. The sound also emulates the wood cutter that Ree was using earlier in the film, a device typically used by men. Therefore, the sound of it used here can be interpreted to mean the approach of men, cutting down the woods, which here represent Ree’s home and lands.

A non diegetic composed score dominates the sound mix. It is overbearing, discordant and imposing on the audience, building tension and a sense of chaos in the scene, alongside a sense of impending doom. This sense is also created when the sound of chainsaws is louder the second time it plays. This same chainsaw sound also foreshadows Ree’s later task of sawing off her father’s dead hands. The entire scene, in fact, implies that Ree will have to make drastic decisions to save herself from a cruel, tragic fate.

Editing –

Mise-En-Scen –

Performance –

We understand the imposing sound of chainsaws to be intimidating the squirrel due to it’s frantic, panicked and darting movements. It looks around as if searching for a threat, and runs as if trying to avoid one.

Ideology:

The squirrel in the dream represents Ree, with smaller squirrels dependent on it, as it panics and tries to avoid an imposing, unstoppable approaching force that traps and encloses her, helpless. The whole scene evokes her slipping control over her circumstances as she nears losing her home.

In conclusion, this sequence presents Ree as trapped in by a cruel system and an even crueler fate that she is almost hopeless to survive, which approaches her, her home, and her family at a rapid pace.