"When America was at war with itself..." - a gripping & engaging experience !!

Rating: 9/10 (10 September 2017)

One year after his misunderstood masterpiece, "Angel Heart", the English director Alan Parker returns to the South for filming "Mississippi Burning", a crime / thriller drama about 2 F.B.I. agents sent to Jessup County, Mississippi in 1964 to investigate the disappearance of 3 civil rights activists.
Led by the younger agent, Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe), a yankee 'crusader' and a symbol of Kennedy's administration, who follow the Bureau's rules by the book & his older and savvy partner, Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman), a former Mississippi Sheriff, who knows the behavior, mentality, traditions & way of life of his fellow countrymen. When they suspect that the Ku Klux Klan may be operating there and responsible for the disappearance of the 3 activists with the support of the local law, Ward & Anderson start a war against the "phantom' killers in searching for the truth, clashing with the town people that don't want them there...
Superbly directed motion picture from an engaging screenplay penned by Chris Gerolmo, based on actual facts and visually stunning, shot by the cinematographer Peter Biziou, who won a well deserved Academy Award, "Mississippi Burning" is a gritty, realistic & sweaty movie experience, filmed on location near where the actual murders took place with even some scenes shot in a documentary style which enhanced the straight tone of the film.
It moves at a thrilling pace, involving the viewer in the sordid ways of racism at his worst, stereotyping that (almost) all of the white southern characters are evil and preaches the audience about the innocent victims of the intolerance and the deserved punishment of their executioners, guided by the eyes of two different lawmen, the liberal moralist - Willem Dafoe and the conservative 'vigilante' , Gene Hackman.
Hackman delivers maybe his best performance since his brilliant turn in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" ('74), he's determined, reckless & sarcastic, showy, but commanding the screen with gravitas proving why he's one of the best (still sadly, underrated) north American actors ever. Willem Dafoe, fresh from his Academy Award nomination for "Platoon", co-stars in a less prominent role, but equal effective, especially in his "boy scout" antagonism with the Hackman character. Frances McDormand, who scored a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, is the stand-out / revelation as the disgruntled & fragile wife of the local Deputy. She shines in a role that could have been underplayed if performed by a less capable actress. The supporting players are top notch (kudos to the casting department & Parker's skillful direction of actors) from the always remarkable as the hateful 'usual suspects": Brad Dourif & Michael Rooker to R. Lee Ermey; Gailard Sartain; Badja Djola in an intense cameo appearance; Tobin Bell, making here his feature film debut, years before his breakthrough role in the "Saw" franchise and Stephen Tobolowsky, among others.
In short, "Mississippi Burning" was one of the best films of 1988, nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director & Best Leading Actor for Hackman, winning 1 and perhaps only lost the Best Picture Oscar, due to the Academy's emotional vote in favor of Barry Levinson's sympathetic drama, "Rain Man".
Highly recommended !!