Frozen River

This Sundance fave from Courtney Hunt is perhaps a little too well-made, too crafted for audience appeal. It loses some indie cred in its effective use of thriller-type suspense. But it’s certainly an open-eyed look at a rarely-seen aspect of the American Dream, where the goal is to move up from a trailer to a double-wide. And while illegal immigration is usually the province of the Mexican border, this looks at Asians coming across the frozen St. Lawrence River from Canada, taking advantage of the mixed jurisdiction of a Mohawk reservation that straddles the river. Melissa Leo is justifiably celebrated for her role as the trailer park mother of two boys, trying to get by when her gambling-addict husband absconds with the balloon payment on their about-to-be-delivered double-wide. The wonder of her performance is that she never seems as though she’s acting, but simply inhabiting the hardscrabble life and no-nonsense attitude of the character. The impassivity of the Mohawk woman who recruits her into risky car treks across the ice may be characterization, or perhaps simply nonprofessional acting, but it works for the story. Gunplay and a Christmas miracle take the proceedings over the top, but I still give the film props for honest observation of hidden lives. (2008, dvd, n.) *7* (MC-82.)