Mudbound (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
'Mudbound', a Netflix movie directed by Dee Rees & adapted from Hillary Jordan's 2008 novel, focuses on the friendship btwn. 2 WWII vets – one white & one black – in rural, segregated Mississippi of the tumultuous 1940s. These 2 men, Jamie McAllan (Garrett Hedlund) & Ronsel Jackson (Jason Mitchell), have much in common ... except the color of their skin. 'Mudbound' is an intense, slow-burn, heartfelt drama that touches on many topics & issues: how friendships btwn. whites & blacks were possible; the ugliness of the racist South; & how racial inequality defined that time & place. Ably directed, beautifully filmed, superbly acted & containing themes pertinent both then & now ... 'Mudbound' is a quiet stunner.
Primarily told through flashbacks, the story concerns 2 inter-connected families. The white McAllan family travel to Mississippi to fulfill a life-long dream of milquetoast Henry (Jason Clarke) to farm the land. Shammed out of renting an ideal farm house, Henry is forced to bring his family – wife Laura (Carey Mulligan) & 2 young daughters – to a shack with no electricity or plumbing. Joining them is Henry's Pappy (Jonathan Banks), a shameless racist who sees everything through a lens of hatred. And Henry's raffish, dynamic younger brother, Jamie (Hedlund), pops up after having returned from war after dropping bombs over Nazi Germany.
The 2nd family in the story is the Jacksons, who are tenant famers on the McAllans' land -- both families become dependent upon one another as they face the challenges of the times. Hard-working & devoted, the Jacksons lived/worked there since the slave days. The proud patriarch, Hap (Rob Morgan), dreams of a better future for his kids. His wife, Florence (Mary J. Blige), cares for her family & works the fields; keeping her distance from the whites (life's lessons have taught her not to trust them). The eldest Jackson son, Ronsel (Mitchell), finally returns home having served his country in Europe as a tank commander in Patton's army.
The end of the war brings on negative changes for both Jamie & Ronsel, however. Jamie suffers from PTSD & uses alcohol as self-medication. Neither Henry nor Pappy is sympathetic to him, although Laura - who has secretly loved him more than her own husband - offers up her mind, body & soul. Meanwhile, Ronsel finds himself angry & unanchored, missing a white woman he left behind in Germany and repulsed that, despite having served America in Europe, he is regarded at home as a 2nd-class citizen. He & Jamie are drawn together by their commonalities & develop a secret friendship that ultimately has extreme consequences for them both.
What a strong motion picture; one that most folks will see on Netflix, but deserves to be seen on a big screen. The characters are as richly developed. To enhance this, 6 of the 7 main characters {not Pappy; who has no redeeming qualities} are given voice-over monologues that provide the audience with information into their backgrounds & feelings. Normally, voice-over narration could be a stumbling block, but in this film, it works. I admire how director Rees executed this tricky subject matter. The film takes a little while to get going, but then moves well enough during its languid 134 minutes.
The ensemble cast is excellent. Carey Mulligan is solid as Laura, a woman who found 'love' with Henry, but had to endure a muddy future with him, all while pining for Jamie & stifling her long-denied desires. The other female role is that of Mary Blige's Florence; a midwife who just wants to get though life & prays to God that her son Ronsel returns home from war alive & unscathed. Rob Morgan is lovely as Hap, the epitome of a hardworking black man who'll do anything to provide for his family; even endure debilitating physical pain. And as mentioned, Jonathan Banks is one-dimensional, but a truly hateful, KKK-loving monster; a villain to truly loathe.
But it's the relationship btwn. Hedlund's Jamie & Mitchell's Ronsel that is the beating heart of the film. Hedlund's Jamie is a once-proud, tortured man who must re-live his war experience every night & drown his sorrows in a bottle. He & Ronsel view each other as kindred spirits; men who are equal, race notwithstanding. And Jason Mitchell exudes a quiet dignity that is just so appealing. The inner-pain he feels coming back from the war only to find that she's still considered subhuman by the white folk is devastating. ALL that happens to him in the final 20 minutes - good & bad - knocked my socks off.
The script encompasses many themes. i.e., sisterhood among women despite race & class and, of course, racism. This includes: threats of violence, segregation, how sharecropping forced black farmers into a near-slavery situation, the Ku Klux Klan, as well as the contrast in black soldiers' treatment in Europe vs. what awaits them at home. Dee Rees' 'Mudbound' is an arresting portrait of a place, time & people. I was wowed by the visual majesty {emphasizing both beauty & sorrow}. It is both epic & intimate. And given the heartbreaking events that ensue, the film even offers a glimmer of hope.
Primarily told through flashbacks, the story concerns 2 inter-connected families. The white McAllan family travel to Mississippi to fulfill a life-long dream of milquetoast Henry (Jason Clarke) to farm the land. Shammed out of renting an ideal farm house, Henry is forced to bring his family – wife Laura (Carey Mulligan) & 2 young daughters – to a shack with no electricity or plumbing. Joining them is Henry's Pappy (Jonathan Banks), a shameless racist who sees everything through a lens of hatred. And Henry's raffish, dynamic younger brother, Jamie (Hedlund), pops up after having returned from war after dropping bombs over Nazi Germany.
The 2nd family in the story is the Jacksons, who are tenant famers on the McAllans' land -- both families become dependent upon one another as they face the challenges of the times. Hard-working & devoted, the Jacksons lived/worked there since the slave days. The proud patriarch, Hap (Rob Morgan), dreams of a better future for his kids. His wife, Florence (Mary J. Blige), cares for her family & works the fields; keeping her distance from the whites (life's lessons have taught her not to trust them). The eldest Jackson son, Ronsel (Mitchell), finally returns home having served his country in Europe as a tank commander in Patton's army.
The end of the war brings on negative changes for both Jamie & Ronsel, however. Jamie suffers from PTSD & uses alcohol as self-medication. Neither Henry nor Pappy is sympathetic to him, although Laura - who has secretly loved him more than her own husband - offers up her mind, body & soul. Meanwhile, Ronsel finds himself angry & unanchored, missing a white woman he left behind in Germany and repulsed that, despite having served America in Europe, he is regarded at home as a 2nd-class citizen. He & Jamie are drawn together by their commonalities & develop a secret friendship that ultimately has extreme consequences for them both.
What a strong motion picture; one that most folks will see on Netflix, but deserves to be seen on a big screen. The characters are as richly developed. To enhance this, 6 of the 7 main characters {not Pappy; who has no redeeming qualities} are given voice-over monologues that provide the audience with information into their backgrounds & feelings. Normally, voice-over narration could be a stumbling block, but in this film, it works. I admire how director Rees executed this tricky subject matter. The film takes a little while to get going, but then moves well enough during its languid 134 minutes.
The ensemble cast is excellent. Carey Mulligan is solid as Laura, a woman who found 'love' with Henry, but had to endure a muddy future with him, all while pining for Jamie & stifling her long-denied desires. The other female role is that of Mary Blige's Florence; a midwife who just wants to get though life & prays to God that her son Ronsel returns home from war alive & unscathed. Rob Morgan is lovely as Hap, the epitome of a hardworking black man who'll do anything to provide for his family; even endure debilitating physical pain. And as mentioned, Jonathan Banks is one-dimensional, but a truly hateful, KKK-loving monster; a villain to truly loathe.
But it's the relationship btwn. Hedlund's Jamie & Mitchell's Ronsel that is the beating heart of the film. Hedlund's Jamie is a once-proud, tortured man who must re-live his war experience every night & drown his sorrows in a bottle. He & Ronsel view each other as kindred spirits; men who are equal, race notwithstanding. And Jason Mitchell exudes a quiet dignity that is just so appealing. The inner-pain he feels coming back from the war only to find that she's still considered subhuman by the white folk is devastating. ALL that happens to him in the final 20 minutes - good & bad - knocked my socks off.
The script encompasses many themes. i.e., sisterhood among women despite race & class and, of course, racism. This includes: threats of violence, segregation, how sharecropping forced black farmers into a near-slavery situation, the Ku Klux Klan, as well as the contrast in black soldiers' treatment in Europe vs. what awaits them at home. Dee Rees' 'Mudbound' is an arresting portrait of a place, time & people. I was wowed by the visual majesty {emphasizing both beauty & sorrow}. It is both epic & intimate. And given the heartbreaking events that ensue, the film even offers a glimmer of hope.