Monday 20 November 2017

Mudbound (2017)

Two families in WWII America, both hard working poorish families who have their hands on the slippery rail of the promise of the American dream only to feel it slip through their fingers, one white, one black, forced into sharing their journey despite the barriers set up between them. In many ways, Mudbound is the story of America.

Writer/director Dee Rees has created a triumph with Mudbound by balancing her ability to film a gorgeous cinematic treat for the eye which captures as much of the beauty of poor post-war Louisiana as possible, while also showing deft weaving of complicated narratives together into one wonderfully cohesive story. Mudbound is a technical and artistic achievement of a high level.

Mudbound is about exploring intricate layers of intersectionalities. She films her quiet epic in parallel lines, comparing and contrasting the lives and struggles of the McAllens and Jacksons in a way that is quintessentially American. She also takes the story overseas to the war in Europe where her characters encounter a very different way of experiencing the world, only to return to attempt to integrate into a nation which doesn't have a place for them. Mudbound layers gender roles over racial divides over socioeconomic status and never feels forced or anything more than part of her story. And what is amazing is how deftly she juggles all of this into such a complete package.

Mudbound feels like a very strong ensemble piece but there are a few standouts among the cast. Carey Mulligan always impresses me with her quiet onscreen power and is one of the strongest here, but it's Mary J Blige who steels the show in a lovely, quiet tour de force. As I said, the cast all shines, but it's Rees' heroines who are the most memorable.

If there has to be any criticism at all it is that I rarely connected to any of the characters. I sympathized but rarely empathized. The one hurdle in an otherwise remarkable film was this lack of connection. There is so much going on here, yet none of it felt personal, none of it translated to the audience, at least not in my case. But this is a minor personal quibble and is in no way an indictment of a truly remarkable and beautiful film. 

One day there won't be controversy over a film like Mudbound, premiering on a streaming service instead of exclusively in cinemas, being taken seriously as a big F "film" and it will be films like Mudbound which break those barriers by being as excellent as they are.

Mudbound
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Mary J Blige, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan, Garrett Hedlund, Jonathan Banks
Director: Dee Rees
Writers: Dee Rees, Virgil Williams

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