You shouldn't want to cheer when a criminal uses dirty money to save the family flat-screen from repo.
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08/28/08
Frozen River (2008)
88
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:122
Fresh:107
Rotten:15
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: Veteran character actress Melissa Leo delivers a stunning performance in this powerful -- if grim -- indie film.
Theatrical Release:Aug 1, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $2,061,019
Synopsis: Courtney Hunt's feature directorial debut FROZEN RIVER is a powerfully unflinching tale of two women, who, driven by economic hardship, form an unlikely partnership smuggling illegal immigrants... [More]
Starring: Melissa Chessington Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Michael O'Keefe
Director: Courtney Hunt
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Reviews for Frozen River
This is a sharp, emotionally engaging drama, and a powerful debut from a new filmmaker.
08/28/08
The stories of women are so disparaged -- or worse, ignored -- in our culture unless they have something to do with pleasing men, but here's one that demands to be seen.
08/28/08
Made with uncommon skill and assurance, the film never succumbs to rank sentimentality, but it manages to get at the nuances of human relationships.
08/28/08
Frozen River, a story of abject desperation, feels so real and immediate that it plays almost like a documentary.
08/28/08
We quickly sense that the director of this film has unusual perception, and that whatever the story and performances turn out to be, she will make the most of them.
08/27/08
Top CriticHunt has achieved a remarkable work with Frozen River, that is both a poignant and exquisitely life-affirming sisterhood rite of passage, and a rare glimpse into the overwhelmed but enduring spirit of the Mohawk Nation.
08/23/08
Frozen River does what too many independent American movies only pretend to do: Takes you to an unnoticed corner of our country and shows what it's like to actually live there.
08/22/08
Frozen River is both a thriller and a complicated study of poverty and racism, and rarely has a movie played out against such a desolate background.
08/22/08
An impressive first feature by writer/director Courtney Hunt, Frozen River boasts considerable suspense-movie tension and a compelling emotional journey for its foreground characters.
08/22/08
All of the people in Frozen River, a character study that moves like a thriller, screw things up regularly, but the movie helps us understand the bad choices they make.
08/22/08
It's fair to say that Hunt's first full-length feature, though uneven at times, holds the promise of better things to come.
08/22/08
It's not a happy film, but it feels true.
08/22/08
Leo gives the kind of performance that's easy to overlook because it doesn't have any Big Moments...so fully inhabited that it never crosses your mind that you're not watching a real woman.
08/21/08
An urgent and incomparably moving first feature from Courtney Hunt.
08/21/08
Top CriticCourtney Hunt's Frozen River is the first great film of the fall. It has great actors playing vivid characters in a setting that makes for a clash of cultures.
08/21/08
Powerful acting by Melissa Leo and Misty Upham and a setting in a little known microcosm of international intrigue, "Frozen River" tells a fascinating story that keeps up the pace from start to finish.
08/18/08
Frozen River is one of those rare independent films that knows precisely what it intends, and what the meaning of the story is.
08/15/08
In this interview, Frozen River star Melissa Leo from the TV show Homicide discusses why she channeled John Wayne for this role and how she captures the desperation and strength of a woman with everything to lose.
08/14/08
In the wrong hands this movie could have been sappy, unbelievable and downright awful. But first-time writer and director Courtney Hunt really nails it with deft skills.
08/13/08
Latest News for Frozen River
February 13, 2009:
RT Interview: Oscar Nominee Melissa Leo
Veteran character actress Melissa Leo may not be a household name, but with more than 70 film and television roles to her credit, she's built an impressive resume of supporting... More...
February 09, 2009:
RT on DVD: Oliver's W, Spike's St. Anna, and My Name is Bruce!
What better way to celebrate the inauguration of President Barack Obama by watching Oliver Stone's W. this week on DVD? While a handful of middling studio releases hit home... More...
February 08, 2009:
Hunt has achieved a remarkable work with Frozen River, that is both a poignant and exquisitely life-affirming sisterhood rite of passage, and a rare glimpse into the overwhelmed but enduring spirit of the Mohawk Nation. 
More...
January 08, 2009:
Broadcast Film Critics Name Critics' Choice Winners
The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards were given on January 8, 2009, to honor the finest achievements in 2008 filmmaking. A list of nominees follows below, with winners in bold: More...
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