Frozen River

When her gambling-addicted husband takes off with the money she had put aside to buy a mobile home, Ray Eddy (Melissa Leo) strikes up an unlikely alliance with a Mohawk bingo caller (Misty Upham) in a bid to provide for her children. Together, they start trafficking immigrants from Canada to the USA, through an Indian reservation across the St Laurence river.

David Jenkins, Time Out: Leo's beautifully textured (not to mention Oscar-nominated) performance is also praiseworthy, not only as a muzzled depiction of a maternal crisis of confidence, but also as a portrait of a woman breathlessly dealing with the blows that life in recession-swamped America ceaselessly doles out to her. (Verdict: four stars out of five)

Angie Errigo, Empire: Conversations [between the two leads] are terse. They both come across as cold and unfeeling. And yet the actresses strike a remarkable balance together, and with raw, naked expressiveness emerge sympathetically, even heroically, as beleaguered women who can't afford to sit around being victims... Leo is magnificent and [director Courtney] Hunt keeps it tightly focussed and real. (Verdict: four stars out of five) ·