Frozen River

A desperate single mother living in upstate New York resorts to smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States as a means of making ends meet in first-time feature director/screenwriter Courtney Hunt's emotionally wrenching drama, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature at the ...more

The fearless performance of Melissa Leo as mom-in-distress Ray is what the emotional success of Frozen River hinges on. To her credit, Leo inhabits Ray completely. In the film, the devil is in the details. There's the dirt under Ray's chipped fingernails and the deep-worn lines on her weather-worn face. There are also the split ends in her unglossy mane of dry, red hair. Ray is a woman with no luxuries, placed in the frozen, gray and depressed tundra of northern New York, nestled near the ...more

Frozen River
Nominee - 81st Oscars®:
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Melissa Leo
Original Screenplay