Winter's Bone – in 30 Seconds!
Paying tribute to Winter’s Bone in a 30-second rhyming review presented some challenges. I decided to riff on one of the bluegrass songs in the film, although without instruments (and with only 30 seconds to get it out) I had to make some adjustments to the rhythm and melody.
The last two lines were a last-minute change that I’m somewhat ambivalent about. “We’ll understand it better by and by” refers to the title of the gospel hymn by Rev. Charles A. Tindley played over the end credits. I like the allusion to the hymn, but I’m not sure I should have changed the last two lines, which originally ran, “It’s not for the faint of heart / But there’s grace and beauty in this work of art.” This was maybe better because it gave critically helpful information (the content is pretty rough but treated in a redemptive way). The new lines are more of an homage and less of a review, which is okay, but I’m thinking it would be better to keep it critical where possible.
More to come!
