Review of Mudbound (2017) by Michael T — 09 Feb 2018

It is quite a shock to see the hardships of a rural, white American family in this excellent drama. The kind of abject, crippling poverty depicted is usually only seen affecting the black community but this movie doesn't hold back on that front either.

The story concerns the relationship between two farming families in the Mississippi in the lead up to, during and aftermath of the Second World War. The white family, headed by a reckless and irrational man who, with his monstrous father and young family, sell all they own for the life of a cotton grower.

The black family consist of a pious, hardworking husband and talented, resourceful wife and their ambitious children. It is fair to say that both families have a pretty miserable time of things with misfortune, poor harvests and personal disasters around every corner.

It is a bleak and relentlessly unforgiving existence. However, the war intervenes in an unexpected way and leads to an enduring bond of friendship which itself causes unrest and eventually an act of pure evil.

The movie confronts the worst aspects of the racism prevalent in the southern states of the USA at the time and and certainly pulls no punches in the portrayal of some fairly horrific acts. There are strong performances all round from the terrific cast.

Carey Mulligan is wonderful as the softly spoken, educated woman forced to endure incredible hardship by the actions of her foolish husband Jason Clarke. This is the first time I have seen Mary J Blige in an acting role and have to say, on the strength of this performance, Id' like to see much more of her.

She is both believable and heartwarming as the matriarch Florence giving a performance that shows real talent. The movie is quite lengthy but never feels as though it is dragging and the portrayal of family life, both the functional and dysfunctional is done with a real care and attention to detail.

This movie had me in tears on a number of occasions and both enraged and touched me. I was also pleased to see that the ending, which could have been depressingly downbeat, actually gave the viewer a sense of hope that sometimes, justice, however rough, can be seen to be done.