When filmmaker Debra Granik first read the book that later provided the source material for her drama Winter’s Bone, she was struck by the brave portrayal of a young female protagonist forced toward independence.

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Debra Granik

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She also was captivated by author Daniel Woodrell’s evocative description of the novel’s setting in the Ozarks of southern Missouri, in a distinctly rural community far from anything the lifelong urban dweller had experienced.

It was the latter that proved to be most challenging for Granik (Down to the Bone) as she adapted and directed the material for the big screen. She knew she had to find the right actress to play the lead, and she was downright obligated to do justice to the setting by shooting on location.

“It’s written by an Ozarks author about a specific region in the United States,” Granik said by phone from New York. “Why would we perjure that? It felt like a major disservice to the project to not shoot it in the region that was the muse for the project.”

The tightly wound story centers on Ree (Jennifer Lawrence), a 17-year-old girl forced to desperate measures when the house she shares with her two young siblings is threatened with foreclosure because of a bail bond deal made by their absentee, drug-dealing father. Her attempts to track down her father’s whereabouts are met with life-threatening deceit and threats by relatives and acquaintances who claim they’re sworn to secrecy. But if she doesn’t solve the mystery, her siblings will be left homeless.

“The female protagonist really grabbed us,” said Granik, who co-wrote the screenplay with producer Anne Rosellini. “She had an interesting personality because of the way she retorted and answered people using a lot of her resources. She was brave and smart.”

Granik also felt the novel would be adaptable on a small budget because the story takes place in a limited time frame with only a small number of locations.

The filmmakers ultimately were able to shoot in Missouri because of that state’s tax-incentive program aimed at luring film productions. Such deals are common in many states, but the Missouri deal was sufficient to fit the project’s budget, Granik said. It also conformed to the vision of the filmmakers.

“We’re urban people. We have no familiarity and authentic life experience with rural life. Even if we wanted to imitate it or emulate it or reproduce it, we didn’t even have the knowledge to do that,” she said. “If we didn’t draw from the muse herself, we would have been cooked.”

Granik spent several months prior to filming in the Ozarks, talking to residents about the project as she scouted locations. Part of her goal was to preserve the cherished traditions of the region — some of which seem backward to coastal urbanites — without resorting to cheap hillbilly cliches.

“We had this period in which we made these links with families, and brick by brick built the foundation to make the film,” said Granik, who involved Woodrell in some aspects of pre-production.

One example is the film’s score, which was conceived in part by Granik and Rosellini during their numerous trips to the region prior to shooting. Those scouting trips broke a few stereotypes for the filmmakers themselves.

“We were scared of the banjo. We thought that would be just a weird, loaded self-crucifixion,” Granik said. “But every time we went down there, when people would offer us a good night after scouting, it would often be the offer of hearing music. And that would frequently include the banjo, with its sweet and lyrical presence. I knew I needed to give a second thought to the banjo. Deliverance can’t be the only identification around the world with that instrument. Hopefully people can see it kind of as an anthropological gift. It’s a rich music tradition.”

Lawrence

Lawrence (The Burning Plain, The Bill Engvall Show) was cast in the ambitious lead role after an audition. Granik said the teenage actress was a natural fit for the part, not only physically but emotionally.

“The fact that she comes from Kentucky meant the world to me,” Granik said. “She already had a lyrical way of pronouncing American English. She didn’t stumble over the script. Something in her life experience had given her opportunities to hear people speaking in ways that some of the expressions were not foreign to her.”

Winter’s Bone made a splash during its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where it picked up the Grand Jury Prize for drama and a screenwriting award.

The film is currently playing at the Landmark Magnolia theater in Dallas.

TODD JORGENSON can be reached at 940-566-6871. His e-mail address is tjorgenson@dentonrc.com.