Does a really good job of showing what racial relations were like at that time!

Rating: 9/10 (30 November 2017)

'MUDBOUND': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
A period drama about two former soldiers returning home from World War II, to work on a farm in Mississippi, and each having to deal with racism and life after war in their own ways. The film was directed by Dee Rees, and it was written by Rees and Virgil Williams. It stars Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Rob Morgan, Mary J. Blige and Jonathan Banks. The movie was released by Netflix, through their streaming site, to almost unanimous rave reviews from critics. It's also been nominated for multiple prestigious awards as well (with Blige getting the most recognition so far). I agree with all the other positive praise.
The story begins in 1939 Memphis, Tennessee. Laura (Mulligan) is a 31-year-old virgin, that still lives with her parents. She's courted by her brother's boss, Henry McAllan (Clarke), and the two marry. They then have two children together, and move to a farm in Mississippi, that Henry bought. Henry's racist widowed father, Pappy (Banks), moves with them. There they meet Hap Jackson (Morgan), and his wife Florence (Blige), and the two begin working for the McAllan family. Henry's younger brother Jamie (Hedlund), and Hap's eldest son Ronsel (Mitchell), both enlist in the army, during World War II. When they return home they meet and become friends. They also both have to deal with their own personal issues, including racism and PTSD, which are enhanced by Pappy McAllan, and the other local white townspeople.
The film is a really well made and detailed story, that covers a lot of different characters, with completely different stories. It does a really good job of showing what racial relations were like, for both whites and blacks at that time, and of course not all whites were bad obviously. Rees's script and direction are both excellent, and there's a number of good performance from a more than decent ensemble cast. I'd also have a really hard time saying who the main character is; Mulligan gets top billing, but she's arguably the most famous. The heart of the movie revolves around the two soldiers, and their relationship, even though that's just a portion of the whole story. I think it's a really effective movie, because of all of these different great qualities.
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