Mudbound [2017] Genre: Period Drama Director: Dee Rees Actors: Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell Mudbound shows the spectator 1940s America, as the country reaches the end of the Second World War with people of all backgrounds throughout the country uniting together to fight against the foreign evil of the Nazis. However, back at home in the rural environment of Mississippi, relationships could not be more fractured. Strong tensions lie between races, with groups like the KKK becoming more and more prevalent, African Americans are oppressed and living in awful conditions due to the Jim Crow laws and everyone is feeling the effect of having a loved one out fighting a war, only knowing the information provided to them by infrequent letters. Rees' film does an absolutely exceptional job of highlighting how just because the American troops were unified at war, it does not mean that there was unification at home. The awful conditions felt by many during the war are beautifully and brilliantly given exposure by Rees in this film. The film depicts the lives of two families living during 1945. One family, the McAllan family, is a white working-class family, made up of Laura (Mulligan) who is married to Henry (Clarke), despite not being too attracted to him. There is also Jamie, Henry's brother (Garrett Hedlund), who at the beginning of the film, is fighting away in the war. Other members of the family are there two children and Pappy, Henry and James' father (Jonathan Banks) who is an extremely racist and bigoted character, who is very harsh and cruel throughout the film. The other family presented is the Jackson family, a family whose ancestors have worked farms in Mississippi for decades as slaves. This family consists of Hap (Rob Morgan) and Florence (Mary J. Blige) who have three children, one of whom, Ronsel (Jason Mitchell) is also away at war, and the film often depicts their hard lives on the film, particularly from the oppressive Jim Crow laws of the time. The return of the two veterans from war from each family is used by Rees to highlight issues of both PTSD and racism throughout the film. This film employs quite an interesting narrative structure, switching between various perspectives to show how different characters are reacting to their current situation, really allowing the viewer to get an idea of the hardships that the characters face in the film, using voiceover narration to, at first, give the viewer an idea of daily routine on the farm but also used to evoke powerful feelings and express them to the viewer, allowing for empathy with both families in a very moving way, and this really adds to the power of the film. It shows the real hardship for both families, dealing with having less money, but then also showing how the treatment by some white Americans of the African Americans made this situation even more the worse. The usage of the voiceover narration is also used in an almost poetic way with one particularly brilliantly performed piece of narration by Carey Mulligan showing the daily routine but also the atmosphere on the farm and perhaps showing the sheer amount of awfulness that goes on daily. Another interesting technique used on the writing front is the clear comparison being made between life on the farm and life in the war. Both are almost portrayed as this living hell by the director and this really helps the viewer to feel for nearly all of the characters involved. The film is shot in such a way to really help to show how there was little contrast between the horrible conditions some felt in the war and those felt by African Americans at home – there was pain and suffering for all. The story is told in such a powerful, brilliantly written and brilliantly performed way which certainly captivated me when I watched it and really created intrigue but also complete shock and horror at some of the grimmer moments in the film. The realistic dialogue in the film, particularly in some of the conversations between the two veterans, really shows how the war brought together some, but the attitudes at home remained the same, with racism and bigotry still being as present as it ever was. The absolute horrific treatment of an African American veteran who had fought for their country the same as any other American was absolutely horrific and shocking to watch. However, what really helps build on this powerful writing and deliver an extremely engaging and convincing story is the brilliant performances. No-one really puts a foot wrong in terms of the acting, with Carey Mulligan being particularly brilliant in her building friendship with Florence, played just as exceptionally, if not more, by Mary J. Blige, and that initial mistrust of each other building to perhaps a friendship that shows they have far more in common. Both Jason Mitchell and Garrett Hedlund are so brilliantly convincing, sharing their traumas of war and really showing PTSD in a very interesting light. The fractures in their relationship as well as the similarities in their experiences of the war are just so brilliantly conveyed to the spectator, really helping to get across the idea of this unification through war of the two races. Other actors also give similarly inspiring and powerful performances, such as Jonathan Banks who just really plays the character so well and really created a real sense of hatred and anger from me. Everyone is just across the board brilliant in this film. The film does have its flaws however. Firstly, while the jumping between narrative perspectives could sometimes evoke powerful emotions from each characters, it could often sometimes be rather frustrating, not showing perhaps the most interesting perspectives and instead jumping to one that doesn't give the same insight into the situation. The jump between perspectives can also sometimes be a bit jarring, with it often being hard to tell where one ends and one begins, leading to the film seeming a bit messy at points, however this is often resolved with powerful writing during the perspective. As well as this, some scenes in the film did feel a bit overly melodramatic. I do totally understand the need for this film to be full of drama in order to fully show the attitudes and atmosphere in America at the time but sometimes it did come across as a bit over-the-top. However, the scenes that were obviously supposed to having the powerful message for the viewer did primarily succeed, so the film's faults do not really ruin the fantastic story it tells across. Overall, Mudbound is a beautifully acted and powerfully written film that shows the awful conditions felt by many in America. The film evokes not only emotion from the characters but lots of varied emotion from the viewer: sadness, anger and even, at rare points, happiness all struck me throughout the film. The film is not a happy watch and it certainly does not leave you with any sort of sense of hope or optimism, but if it did, it wouldn't be realistic. The Jim Crow laws continued to oppress African Americans throughout the United States for years to come. The film really highlights that overwhelming gloom felt all over the country by a large variety of people. The few flaws of the film certainly aren't enough to stop this being a brilliantly powerful film that deserves lots of attention. Rating: 9/10
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