Mudbound

Or PTSD as it is also called. Although here you have more of a Welcoming Stress Disorder ... because while in war, the skin color did not matter, back at home (in the US) for some it more than mattered. You may not feel comfortable with what certain people are doing here - but they all have their "reasons" (or at least education and prejudices they grew up with) why ... not that it hurts less what they do.

An interesting look and a friendship build over something horrific two of the characters went through ... and also showing how little certain groups of people had to say. Still to this day in some regions for sure - and why that matters and why it should not be that way anymore. A good drama with a lot of good actors in it. Not an easy watch by any stretch of the imagination though ...

A good and extremely well acted film. It is really the netflix film that could make the difference in terms of awards recognition. It is not your typical racism film as it tells another side of it. It is about two young men who would never be in any way friends if it wasn't for one thing they have in common. Both are war veterans and return home with a trauma. One is the son of a farm aid, the other is the brother of the owner of the farm. But it is not the only story this ensemble piece tells. The acting is the best reason to see the film. Rob Morgan was the MVP for me. It was a performance that worked way beneath his dialogue. A very deep and moving character and he managed it absolutely realistic. Jason Mitchell was great as well, especially towards the end. He has for sure the battiest role. Garrett Hedlund comes right after with a very controlled and intense turn. He surely is underrated for his acting, I also liked Mary J. Blige who had some great small moments, but after all the buzz I expected something more intense. Much of her performance works through her expressions which were great and real. Carey Mulligan and Jonathan Banks were great as well. Jason Clarke had his moments but was possibly the weakest of the bunch, but that was mostly because of his pale character, The film was extremely well shot, nicely directed and had a great screenplay. At the beginning it dragged a little bit but it is definitely worth to see and the ending is extremely intense, shocking and memorable. And the final scene has to be one of the most beautiful scenes of the year.

Greetings again from the darkness. The Jim Crow South and WWII have each spawned many movies, and both play a crucial role in director Dee Rees' (BESSIE) adaptation (co-written with Virgil Williams) of Hillary Jordan's 2008 novel. It's the story of two families, the Jacksons and the McAllans, striving for daily survival in rural Mississippi during the 1940's.

The Jacksons are a black family tenant-farming on land owned by the white McAllans who transplanted from Memphis. This land is so remote and life so hard, that tractors are almost non-existent and mules are rare enough. There is such a bleakness to this existence that all seem oblivious to the always present mudhole leading to the front door of their shack. Elation comes in the form of a privacy wall constructed around the outdoor family shower, or the sweetness of a bar of chocolate. Soon after D-Day, Florence and Hap Jackson send their son Ronsel off to war. The same thing is happening across the 200 acre farm to Jamie McAllan, brother of Henry and son of Pappy.

A shifting of multiple narrators throughout allows us access to the perspectives of multiple characters. We get both black and white views on war and farming. Days in war bring injury, death and dirt … not so dissimilar to life on a Mississippi farm. When Ronsel and Jamie return from war, they are both suffering. Ronsel can't come to grips with how he was treated as a redeemer in Europe, but just another 'black man' being targeted by the KKK at home, while Jamie is shell-shocked into alcoholism and an inability to function in society. The parallels between the war experience of Ronsel and Jamie lead them to a friendship that ultimately can't be good for either.

Jason Clarke plays Henry and Carey Mulligan, his wife Laura. Jonathan Banks ("Breaking Bad", "Better Call Saul") is the ultimate nasty racist Pappy, while Garrett Hedlund is Jamie. Rob Morgan and Mary J Blige are Hap and Florence Jackson, and Jason Mitchell (STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON) is Ronsel. While all perform well, it's Mitchell and Hedlund who are particular standouts, as is a radio reference of the great Lou Boudreau. Rachel Morrison's cinematography is terrific and captures both the hardscrabble life of Mississippi, but also the frantic and tragic abruptness of war (in just a couple of scenes).

Racism is always difficult to watch, and in that era, everyone had their place/plight in life. It was a structure built to ensure misery for most, and one guaranteed to collapse. The acting here is very strong and the film is well made. The story-telling is consistently disquieting and periodically unbearable. Still, we are all tired (or should be) of hatred. The somewhat hopeful ending caused an audible sigh of relief from an audience of viewers who had been angry and clinched for more than two hours. And though there is no joy in Mudville, we remain hopeful, even today.

Wasn't going to go to this, but so very glad I did. Netflix has made a film worthy of the highest praise. If the book is better than this movie, this is a book for your library. The entire screening audience became engrossed in this movie, so quiet you could hear a pin drop on the carpet. The story unfolds necessarily slow and snares you. The narrations by different characters at different times, helps to pull the viewer in lightly forcing a personal touch to each story. The different perspectives of the storytellers is blatantly obvious while the movie spares little in realistic actions that make the viewer cringe at times, laugh at times and cry at times. it doesn't hold back The acting is top notch, even though I had only heard of a hand full of these players, one not even being an actor. The cinematography is up there, crisp and a great player in the mood of this movie. It had educational moments too, while not being preachy, it just shows and tells where we have been. It is also a movie for our times. People from the screening audience are still taking about this move 4 days later. An Oscar contender this should be.

There are alot of positive things to write about Mudbound. First of all the acting, that was by far the best part of this movie. It's what made this movie entertaining to watch, because in my eyes the duration of the movie was too long, but the good acting made up for that. The story itself is easy to follow, easy in the way it's not complicated, not in the way of hearing and seeing racist abuse. Because that's what's the movie about, awful racist southern people against a normal family that tries to survive in their own way. It's a message that depending on where you live, on how you were raised, you treat people differently. A movie with not a new story, but worth watching.