Mudbound film review: Slow burning yet powerful
MUDBOUND might have been written by John Steinbeck.
Mudbound starts out as a slow burner but is rewarding to stick with
Set amid the misery and hardship of life in 1940s Mississippi, it follows the intertwined fates of two families working the same stretch of land.
White man Henry McAllan (Jason Clarke) has set his sights on running a cotton farm and drags his wife Laura (Carey Mulligan) and their two children to live in muddy fields in the middle of nowhere.
Black man Hap Jackson (Rob Morgan), his wife Florence (Mary J Blige) and their five children are a family of sharecroppers all too aware of their lowly status in a deeply unjust world.
Mudbound is a tale of gritty aspiration and defying odds
Mudbound builds into a powerful drama in which everyone is at the mercy of a deep-rooted racism
An ensemble drama in which multiple voices create the voice-over narration, Mudbound finds its focus in the unexpected friendship between Henry’s brother Jamie (Garrett Hedlund) and Hap’s son Ronsel (Jason Mitchell).
Both men are war veterans and keenly aware that any public sign of their mutual respect could get them both killed.
Initially slow-moving and measured, Mudbound builds into a powerful drama in which everyone is at the mercy of a deep-rooted racism.