The Help (2011)

Based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett, director Tate Taylor makes an overwrought tear-jerker with some bathroom humor about Southern black maids in the early 1960s. But the movie is well executed, thanks to good performances, especially by Viola Davis.

d: Tate Taylor | imdb.com | trailer | Charlie Rose
Let’s begin. | I need your help. | I got a job. | You is important.

Winter’s Bone (2010)

Jennifer Lawrence gives a breakthrough performance as Ree Dolly, a 17-year-old Ozark Mountain girl looking for her missing father. She is an everyday American hero, fighting for her life and against the antiquated social mores of her extended family.

d: Debra Granik | imdb.com | trailer