Mudbound
Returning
WWII Vets Forge Unlikely Friendship across Color Line in Searing
Southern Saga
Dateline:
Mississippi, 1946, which means many of the Magnolia State's soldier
native sons are making the adjustment back to civilian life after
serving overseas during World War II.. But the fighting isn't over
for Sergeant Ronsel Jackson (Jason Mitchell), a black man reluctantly
returning to the repressive Jim Crow system of segregation.
After
all, since he had been willing to die for his country, Ronsel figures
it's reasonable to expect equality and all the rights of citizenship,
racist traditions notwithstanding. So, when he arrives home, he
boldly enters the local general store through an entrance reserved
for whites.
But
despite still wearing his Army dress uniform, the proud veteran is
greeted with a hateful warning snarled by a seething customer.
"You're in Mississippi now, [N-word]! Use the back door, if you
don't want any trouble." Ronsel grudgingly obliges, ostensibly
less fearful of direct harm from the elderly white man than of the
veiled threat leveled should he have the temerity to cross the color
line again.
Ronsel
can't afford to take any chances, because the intimidating bigot is
Pappy McAllan (Jonathan Banks), the patriarch of the family which
owns the farm where his parents (Mary J. Blige and Rob Morgan)
presently reside as sharecroppers. Pappy's elder son, Henry (Jason
Clarke), subsequently pays the Jacksons a visit, demanding an apology
for the transgression.
The
plot thickens when Pappy's younger son, Jamie (Garrett Hedlund), a
decorated Air Force pilot, comes back to the plantation with some new
notions about race relations. He's suddenly pro-integration after
having fought alongside some brave Tuskegee Airmen.
Thus
unfolds Mudbound, a searing Southern saga based on Hillary Jordan's
best-selling, first novel of the same name. The movie marks the
sophomore offering from director Dee Rees who made her own impressive
debut with Pariah in 2011. Here, she coaxes a career performance out
of Mary J. Blige, who might very well be remembered come awards
season.
How
did Nina Simone put it? 'Mississippi Goddam!'
Rated R for nudity, ethnic slurs, brief profanity and disturbing violence
Running time: 134 minutes
Production Studios: Elevate Films / MMC Joule Films / Armory Films / Zeal Media
Distributor: Netflix
To see a trailer for Mudbound, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xucHiOAa8Rs
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