Review of Mississippi Burning (1988) by Mandela W — 17 Sep 2016

The civil rights era is one that still stands the test of time and the 1960's was when it was at the height of its notierty. Martin Luther King gave his I have a dream speech, Malcolm X was assissanted along with MLK, The march on Selma happened, the Freedom Riders and the murders of Civil rights workers. Mississippi Burning winds the clocks back to 64 when those murders happened. The movie looks at the efforts of two FBI agents to find some measure of justice for the blacks in the south, but just like any task of this kind it is not easy.

Alan Ward and Rupert Anderson are sent down from DC to Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of three civil right workers. Ward is a deadest no nonsense agent while Anderson is a bit of shady realist type agent who knows the south well. Ward and Anderson quickly find out how much the a small town in the state is on edge and how the KKK has installed fear in everyone, especially the blacks. This makes the investigation the agents came down for that much harder.

Its very real film about a time where everything was tense. Alan parker really captures mississipi well at this time. it was a real nightmare for blacks. I mean parker does a really great job of instilling a tenseness in the atmosphere of Mississippi. the racism in the state is so evident thanks to this. interesting how they applied the news broadcast elements into it as well with the interviews. adds a sense of realism to this ficitional story based on real events.

Gene Hackman never seems to disappoint. Anderson knows the ways of this small town and yet makes it really unclear if he is trying to derail wards investigation or is trying to give him the right guidance in solving this murder. he played him as not only someone who jumps both sides of the fence but is fearless against the white supremiscts of the south. willem defoe plays an slightly idealistic and no nonsense man who doesn't know what he's messing with here in Mississippi. frances mcdormand was excellent here! I was worried she was gonna play a generic like character but this one was intriguing as she was one of the few townsfolk to actually sympathize with black folks and was fascinated by this rare attempt at order by the fbi agents.

I really liked the script for this film It was so nicely written. I liked the music too I was trying to find that main theme online but no luck. Anyway folks go check out Mississippi Burning.