A River Runs Through It

“Frozen River” studies a short while in the lives of two women, both of which belong to families who live in desperation. It’s driven by a fast-paced story with hairpin twists and turns, but the plot is merely a package for the characters to live in. The movie is far more interested in how they have to live, which requires them to make sacrifices and do anything for money. One of its highest achievements is the way it earns sympathy for its characters – that might be because the lives on the screen feel so close to the ones in the audience.

A great deal of that connection is made by the actresses, especially Melissa Leo, who’s nominated for an Oscar. She develops her character through intelligence and meditation, and knows every uncomfortable corner in her heart and mind. Leo uses that as the bedrock for how she acts and talks, and she makes everything her character does seem artless and routine. That familiarity creates a kind of intimacy between her and the audience, and we find out almost everything we need to learn about her before we even know her name.

Leo plays Ray Eddy, a mother of two who lives in a trailer home. Her husband is gone, leaving her to pay their bills on her own, and she only works part time as a cashier at the local discount store. She drives by a bingo hall one day and sees his car in the driveway, only to find that it had been stolen by a Mohawk from an Indian reservation. Her name is Lila Littlejohn (Misty Upham), and she lets Ray in on a secret – she knows someone who can give Ray $2,000 for her husband’s car.

She could certainly use the money to support her sons, T.J. (Charlie McDermott) and Ricky (James Reilly), but she doesn’t trust a woman who stole her husband’s abandoned car. On top of everything, they’d have to drive across a frozen river, although Lila swears she has seen bigger vehicles pull it off with no problem. After she decides to go along with Lila’s plan, Ray finds out that Lila has gotten her involved in a grander scheme.

This is a setup that could easily hold down a 97-minute movie, but “Frozen River” has faith in its characters and gives them the control they need – there’s never a sense that they’re merely puppets attached by strings to the plot. That, much like the film itself, is a quiet and rare triumph.