The Bondsman visits Ree

• Ideology = anti-capitalism
• This  idea of the ‘rich get richer’ is prominent in this scene this man arrives in his expensive car to take money from someone without a car and barely a home. Capitalism works in favour of the rich.  
• Anti-capitalist critic of the fact that the poverty in this forgotten America has caused the people to turn to drugs and crime, commenting that capitalism is criminogenic.
• Money drives the plot – whilst Ree is doing this for her family, it is because of MONEY that has not been paid ‘your fathers short on his bond.’
• Establishing shots of the Ozark landscape
• Audience begins positioned with the outsider - LS
• Matching MS's between the bondsman and the Ozark men who watch him, they keep their eyes on him, as though they are about to battle.

  Protecting their community from this unfamiliar face, especially since he has turned up in an expensive car.
• SHAKY POV CAMERA as the car approaches creates spacial temporal alignment with Ree and distance from the bondsman despite the familiarity he has with the film industry: he is an unfamiliar character to the Ozark that we should not align ourselves with. ‘who the hell is he?’
• The SRS between Ree and bondsmen, ‘he didn’t show for court, that makes him a runner’ accusatory and straight – not a warm, kind comforting man.

  Mirrored in the uncomfortable MCU we see him in (without the OTS element). This also aligns us with Ree, subjective access.
• The OTS shot of Ree establishes her as a strong female character: she doesn't fear to stand up to a man of authority: 'you'd be wasting your time and pissing me off'
• Her lack of fear reflects the distance between the Ozark and modern America through the disempowerment of economic status + capitalism that places the wealthy / businessmen high
• They know not to be gentle and kind to people from outside of the community, especially people involved with the law = distrustful.
• The MLS of blondie and friend watching the entire interaction show the watchful eyes everywhere: everyone knows everything that goes on in the community.

  They are here to make sure nothing unusual is occurring, nothing suspicious that could cause harm to the Ozark. The bondsman is an outsider who is not welcome – links to southern gothic genre.
• MCU -sense of care in the bondsmen, he is not as cruel as expected ‘how old are you?’, he gives information to Ree that maybe she should not have, prepares her for what is about to happen.
• The TIGHTENING SRS reveals the tension and more information is being given to Ree, she is getting closer to figuring out who is involved with her dads death but also that she does not have much time left - she is crossing the first threshold to her quest (finding father)
• This establishes Ree as the hero of the dark fairytale
• 'a week ... unless you can prove he's dead' Granik uses Stanton's 2+2 theory + the convention of being on a time crunch relates this to a fairy-tale.
• In a MCU, shallow focus, the bondsman says‘unless you can prove he is dead’, using Stanton’s 2 + 2 theory alongside introduction of non-diegetic sound forms this realisation she has to find something as proof.
• Background of this shot shows the shiny, expensive car the bondsman arrived in, it is not a truck like the other cars – this imagery displaying that he is an outside who is not welcome, from the city and typically shown in film America – more relatable to the audience than Ree is. This also reinforces a critic on capitalism that functions in favour of the rich – the rich get richer, take from the poor to feed the rich.
• Both the subjective camera and shallow focus positions us directly with Ree, despite being able to understand the bondsman more, encouraging sympathy for her plight as well as her alienation from the community.
• ‘blonde, you boys staying out of trouble’, whilst we thought that he was new, this has made it clear that the bondsman has visited before which may be why the boys are so watchful of his every move, he has wronged them and caused a dislike of him amongst the community.

  Reinforces this idea that many members of the Ozark have turned to crime to survive, Granik making a comment that capitalism is criminogenic.
• Spectatorship: Tightening camera causes a removal of the OTS shot, aligned with Ree in her view of the bondsman but this Is also a matching shot of Ree from the bondsman POV. He is the first character that appears familial to a typical audience as he comes from the city and modern American life.
• Feminist preferred reading – Ree is marked by her father absence and absence of men in her life but is not overly concerned about his absence – tracking him down is strictly a financial proposition.
• Has genre conventions of a southern gothic – Ree is an outside and there is a fear of institutions (the bondsman.)
• Jennifer was an unknown lead at the time – saving on the budget.