'Winter's Bone' (R) (out of four)

There's a pivotal scene in the crime drama "Winter's Bone" where teenager Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is confronted by a group of women who "put the hurt" on her for seeking answers to questions that she shouldn't be asking about her missing father.

And while there are far more violent scenes depicted in any number of this year's summer popcorn flicks, there's something about this one (and several others in the film) that's much more disturbing. It leaves you with a pit in your stomach because it feels real.

A relative newcomer to feature films, Lawrence (a cast member on the sitcom "The Bill Engvall Show") gives a remarkably subtle performance in "Winter's Bone" as Ree Dolly, a 17-year-old Ozark mountain girl who faces the threat of being thrown out of the family's house with her two young siblings and sick mother when the drug-dealing family patriarch skips bond. Questioning her volatile kin's code of silence surrounding her father's whereabouts, Ree faces the daunting prospect of finding him within a week in order to save her family from being turned out to the unforgiving Ozark woods.

Based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell, director Debra Granik not only helps bring the characters to life with believable complexity ("Deadwood's" John Hawkes is also a standout as Ree's defiant uncle, Teardrop), she masterfully recreates the atmosphere and culture of the Ozarks. Whether the setting is a cluttered house where a handgun, among other things, sits inconspicuously on the dining room table -- or a picnic table where the family skins squirrels for food -- Granik doesn't miss a beat with the details. The great thing is, the director builds upon those settings with an engaging story loaded with intense showdowns and arm's-length mystery. There's nothing predictable about it.

In a long, hot summer boiling over with action blockbusters, it’s a welcome relief when films like "Winter's Bone" chill the air with a smack of realism. A gut-wrenching and compelling thriller, the film has the sort of raw power that stays with you long after the credits roll.

Don't be surprised if this film -- which stormed out of the gate at Sundance earlier this year with the top prize for a feature drama -- is cited, and often, once awards season gets under way in the fall. Like an endless winter, "Winter's Bone" is no doubt bleak, but there's something empowering about it when it's anchored by a character with an undeniable will to survive.

"Winter's Bone" is now playing in select theaters nationwide.