A remarkable, tormenting film about hatred and racism.

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2005)

Agent Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe) and Agent Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman) find themselves investigating the disappearances of three civil rights workers in a small, segregated town in Mississippi. Searching for the boys leads to them finding more corruption and hatred that could have ever been imagined.
Mississippi Burning is one of the few films that actually capture the brutality of some events that took place during this sad era in history. The audience is shocked and thrown around through a series of emotions, helping bring across the meaningless of hatred and the realism of that time period. The visual images portrayed are very hard to watch, making the film quite successful in its attempt to bring a point across.
Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman play "the good cop, bad cop" partnership perfectly, helping create an almost flawless film. The chemistry they held was almost so obscure and confusing, it was realistic and some how gives the audience a feel of a real-life partnership. The persistence of the two men's characters was very courageous and inspiring also, making even me want to be an FBI Agent after watching the film. Overall, Mississippi Burning is a remarkable, brutal film with themes of racism and hatred scattered throughout.
I highly recommend this film.