Director: Dee Rees
Screenplay: Dee Rees and Virgil Williams, based on the novel Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Garret Hedlund, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige, Jonathan Banks, Rob Morgan, Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Running Time: 134 minutes
Genre: Period drama
The film follows two families (one white and one black) in rural Mississippi in the years during and immediately after World War II. Henry McAllan (Clarke) struggles to make a living as a farmer with his unhappy wife, Laura (Mulligan), their two young daughters, and Henry's racist father Pappy (Morgan). Hap Jackson (Harrison Jr.) is a tenant farmer living with his wife Florence (Blige) and their large family, enduring horrible racism, and dreaming of a better life.
Henry's brother Jamie (Hedlund) and the Jackson's eldest son, Ronsel (Clarke), join the military to fight in the war. After the war is over, Jamie and Ronsel return to Mississippi, both suffering from their traumatic experiences overseas, and Ronsel increasingly angry at the racism he is forced to suffer.
This is a powerful film dealing with themes of racism, poverty and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The film takes place over a number of years but it always maintains it's focus on the two families and their struggles, depicting rural Mississippi in powerful detail, while the wartime experiences of Jamie and Ronsel are depicted in brief, vivid sequences. The cast is fantastic all around, and the film is well directed and beautifully shot (the film's cinematographer, Rachel Morrison, is the first woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography). It's kind of a pity that it is just on Netflix, because it would be incredible on a big screen. The film deals with powerful themes which are still relevant today, particularly the corrosive effects of racism. It's an important film and needs to be seen, although it is obviously not a fun time at the movies. it's deeply troubling, as it should be.
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