Review: Mudbound

Image courtesy of Netflix.

Dee Rees' "Mudbound" is a powerful film about perspective and how different people view a similar situation and come up with opposing views. The picture follows the stories of two families - one white and one black - in pre- and post-World War II Mississippi who, due to circumstances, find themselves sharing the same plot of land.

One perspective is that of pastor Hap Jackson (Rob Morgan), who shares the plot of land with his wife, Florence (Mary J. Blige), and five children, one of whom - Ronsel (Jason Mitchell) - is drafted and sent to fight the Germans and, in the process, falls in love with a young German woman while abroad. Hap sees the plot of land as an opportunity to rise above his station in life.

Meanwhile, Henry McAllan (Jason Clarke) has dragged his wife, Laura (Carey Mulligan), two daughters and evil racist father, Pappy (Jonathan Banks), to the plot of land and comes to find it to be godforsaken. Shortly after taking over the plot, Henry's brother, the hard drinking and womanizing Jaime (Garrett Hedlund), has also returned from the war in shell shock. Another perspective in the picture is that of Jaime and Laura - who come to know members of the Jackson family and forge bonds of friendship - versus that of Henry, who merely see the Jacksons as a means to an end, and Pappy, whose perspective is completely driven by hateful racism.

Jaime and Ronsel strike up a friendship, all the while that Henry forces Hap to work on the land that he has hoped to become his own. It also becomes obvious that Laura has a thing for Jaime and, to add more drama to the scenario, Pappy not only insults Hap and Florence with racial epithets, but has a run-in with Ronsel that we know will lead to no good.

Rees' previous film, "Pariah," was a picture about a young, closeted gay African American woman and her relationship with her family. "Mudbound" is also about a family dynamic - make that two, actually - and Rees shows an affinity for stories regarding familial units. Although "Pariah" was very good, Rees' latest film is a major step up - it's the type of confident, visually striking and thematically rich picture you'd associate with a veteran director, rather than a second outing.

This is also the type of film that will likely make you angry. There are no Hollywood endings here and the film's characters are frequently forced to swallow injustices without any recourse. There's a particularly horrifying scene late in the movie that the viewer can probably see coming, but it's deeply unsettling and heartbreaking all the same. This is a very good film, anchored by terrific performances - especially Hedlund, Mitchell and Blige - and strong filmmaking. I'd highly recommend it.