Mudbound

Greetings again from the darkness. The Jim Crow South and WWII have each spawned many movies, and both play a crucial role in director Dee Rees' (BESSIE) adaptation (co-written with Virgil Williams) of Hillary Jordan's 2008 novel. It's the story of two families, the Jacksons and the McAllans, striving for daily survival in rural Mississippi during the 1940's.

The Jacksons are a black family tenant-farming on land owned by the white McAllans who transplanted from Memphis. This land is so remote and life so hard, that tractors are almost non-existent and mules are rare enough. There is such a bleakness to this existence that all seem oblivious to the always present mudhole leading to the front door of their shack. Elation comes in the form of a privacy wall constructed around the outdoor family shower, or the sweetness of a bar of chocolate. Soon after D-Day, Florence and Hap Jackson send their son Ronsel off to war. The same thing is happening across the 200 acre farm to Jamie McAllan, brother of Henry and son of Pappy.

A shifting of multiple narrators throughout allows us access to the perspectives of multiple characters. We get both black and white views on war and farming. Days in war bring injury, death and dirt … not so dissimilar to life on a Mississippi farm. When Ronsel and Jamie return from war, they are both suffering. Ronsel can't come to grips with how he was treated as a redeemer in Europe, but just another 'black man' being targeted by the KKK at home, while Jamie is shell-shocked into alcoholism and an inability to function in society. The parallels between the war experience of Ronsel and Jamie lead them to a friendship that ultimately can't be good for either.

Jason Clarke plays Henry and Carey Mulligan, his wife Laura. Jonathan Banks ("Breaking Bad", "Better Call Saul") is the ultimate nasty racist Pappy, while Garrett Hedlund is Jamie. Rob Morgan and Mary J Blige are Hap and Florence Jackson, and Jason Mitchell (STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON) is Ronsel. While all perform well, it's Mitchell and Hedlund who are particular standouts, as is a radio reference of the great Lou Boudreau. Rachel Morrison's cinematography is terrific and captures both the hardscrabble life of Mississippi, but also the frantic and tragic abruptness of war (in just a couple of scenes).

Racism is always difficult to watch, and in that era, everyone had their place/plight in life. It was a structure built to ensure misery for most, and one guaranteed to collapse. The acting here is very strong and the film is well made. The story-telling is consistently disquieting and periodically unbearable. Still, we are all tired (or should be) of hatred. The somewhat hopeful ending caused an audible sigh of relief from an audience of viewers who had been angry and clinched for more than two hours. And though there is no joy in Mudville, we remain hopeful, even today.

With Mudbound, a tale of two families in good(terrible) ol' Mississippi in the 1940s and the daily struggles for the men and women getting by in the most rural elements imaginable, I wanted to like it more, even love it. The period feel and authenticity Rees and her team have makes an impression and it's all surely lived in to where you feel the pain and literal dirt for white and blacks (so, in other words, a brief mention of 'A Tale of Two Cities' has textual resonance).

But the first half is rough going with way overdone narration, with too much that gives more information and dictating character beats than near necessary, robbing moments of poetry and grace. It almost gives the impression of a tougher/rougher shot yet far less eloquent version of The Southerner by Renoir. Not bad but not... Cinematic enough. It feels too literal a translation of a book (and it is an adaptation of one, unread by me).

Yet, once Hedlund and Mitchell, who don't get too developed before they go off to war and only get some in the scenes when they're in battle (all done in brutal and brief bites), come home from the war, the drama all around gets intensified. The narration gives way to emotional scenes between characters - or just conversations showing an understanding that wouldn't have happened if not ironically for the horrors of war- and all the acting by everyone goes to 100 (Jonathan Banks shows a much... "Poppy" kind of side to his talents).

It may be more of a history lesson than anything else, but the intimacy Rees has with her performers gets the material to its peak too. If you aren't sure of where it's going, or want Rees to stick to the farm scenes and not cut back to the war, just wait and the patience will pay off.

A good and extremely well acted film. It is really the netflix film that could make the difference in terms of awards recognition. It is not your typical racism film as it tells another side of it. It is about two young men who would never be in any way friends if it wasn't for one thing they have in common. Both are war veterans and return home with a trauma. One is the son of a farm aid, the other is the brother of the owner of the farm. But it is not the only story this ensemble piece tells. The acting is the best reason to see the film. Rob Morgan was the MVP for me. It was a performance that worked way beneath his dialogue. A very deep and moving character and he managed it absolutely realistic. Jason Mitchell was great as well, especially towards the end. He has for sure the battiest role. Garrett Hedlund comes right after with a very controlled and intense turn. He surely is underrated for his acting, I also liked Mary J. Blige who had some great small moments, but after all the buzz I expected something more intense. Much of her performance works through her expressions which were great and real. Carey Mulligan and Jonathan Banks were great as well. Jason Clarke had his moments but was possibly the weakest of the bunch, but that was mostly because of his pale character, The film was extremely well shot, nicely directed and had a great screenplay. At the beginning it dragged a little bit but it is definitely worth to see and the ending is extremely intense, shocking and memorable. And the final scene has to be one of the most beautiful scenes of the year.

I felt the film dragged in the first hour, but once the two boys came back from WWII, one from a white family and the other from a black family, the story was rolling. Very sick how young men who served in the war had to return to disgusting racism. A whole new fresh horror awaited them. After the ending, I felt I needed to watch Mississippi Burning just to get a feeling of justice. What a lawless hole the south was. After seeing all the black children murdered in recent years, Roy Moore's base comments in Alabama, and juvenile actions of Trump, I ask myself where is the leadership in America to finally address the over incarceration of black men, lax gun laws, police brutality, white privilege in the justice system, etc??

This film did not leave me with a sense of hope. After WWII, many black men moved to Europe where they were treated as equals. I realize the Mudbound story takes place in 1940s but do people actually think America is the land of the free today? I don't think so. And seeing Americans vote someone like Trump into power only makes those of us on the outside wonder ... what is the fate of this country? .

Slightly drawn out at the start, bit too long, but gets better towards the end. While there are far better films with much better performances on the subject of racial tensions of the past, you're left under no illusion of the evil of some people and, if you live your life with your eyes and ears open, you will know that they still walk the streets today and probably in greater numbers.