Heavy but undeniably amazing

Rating: 10/10 (1 July 2019)

It's been 2 years since I watched this movie and the impression remains. It views like a Steinbeck reads, epic. The land rules the tale with beautiful cinematography; the facts of life (the struggle) is depicted harshly but very really in this rural world. With a perfect balance of performances, where it'd be easy for the men to be stereotypes of bitter hicks or victims, the pairing of superbly human performances by the ladies, Mulligan and Blige put the entire narrative grounded in a muddy reality where every character's actions are understood as it's motivated by the maintenance of their lifeline, their land. They are working constantly, drudge drudge drudge, and the relentlessness of these women balance the actions of the men who also drudge along but in the sticky heat let racial tensions and greed surmount, driving the plot. This movie will provide fodder to any conversation of social justice and American History. A must watch in the cannon of truly gritty Americana (think No Country for Old Men)