Mudbound

***Mudbound*** is a 2017 American period drama film.

## Synopsis

Two men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.

## Plot

In 1939 Laura is a 31-year-old virgin living with her parents in Memphis, Tennessee, when her brother's boss, Henry McAllan, begins to court her. She is not particularly attracted to him, but marries him anyway. The couple have two daughters.

Hap Jackson is a tenant farmer working land in the Mississippi delta that his ancestors have worked for generations, in previous years as slaves. He longs to own the land he works.

When WWII commences, Henry's younger brother, the handsome and charming Jamie McAllan, and Ronsel Jackson, Hap's oldest son, both enlist. Jamie becomes a flight captain while Ronsel is a sergeant. Ronsel enjoys the freedom he has in Europe, where he and other black soldiers are welcomed as liberators by white Europeans.

At home Henry buys a farm in Mississippi and abruptly moves Laura and their children there, along with his widowed father (Pappy), a virulent racist. When Laura's children grow sick with the whooping cough, Henry asks Florence, Hap's wife, to help Laura tend to them and Laura later asks her to stay on as a housekeeper.

Double accidents hit the Jacksons when the mule they own dies and Hap breaks his leg. This results in the family needing to rent a mule from the McAllans and reduces their earnings from the land. The accident means that Florence can no longer work for Laura. Laura takes money from her husband in order to get a doctor for Hap; in addition to helping the Jacksons, this enables Florence to return to work for her.

The war ends and Jamie and Ronsel return. Ronsel is glad to see his family, but is outraged to be treated as a second-class citizen in the segregated life of Mississippi. Jamie suffers from PTSD. After Ronsel and Jamie happen to meet in town the two become friends. Jamie treats Ronsel with respect, allowing him to ride in the front seat of his car, and sharing a drink with him. He reveals to Ronsel that during his time in the army his life was once saved by a black pilot, an incident which has stayed with him.

Laura, who had been pregnant with her third child, suffers a miscarriage and develops depression because of it. Jamie builds her a shower to afford her some privacy on the farm.

Both Ronsel and Jamie struggle to adjust to civilian life. When Jamie, who has descended into alcoholism, has a fight with Henry in which he tells him Laura is miserable, Henry asks him to leave. At the same time Ronsel receives a letter from his German girlfriend telling him that she has given birth to his son, Franz. Ronsel shows Jamie a photograph of the girlfriend and son, and Jamie gives him a ride. Before he leaves, Jamie thanks Ronsel for being a good friend and says that he hopes that he is able to see his son. At home, Pappy berates Jamie for allowing a black man to ride in the front of the truck with him. Pappy discovers the photograph of the white woman and mixed-race child on the front seat of the truck, left by Ronsel. Jamie prepares to leave the farm and is discovered by Laura. They make love.

When Ronsel reaches his home, he realizes that he left the photograph in the truck. Later that night, he is picked up by the members of the Ku Klux Klan and beaten. Jamie is brought to the remote farm location where Ronsel is being held and given a "trial" by the KKK to decide whether he should be lynched. Though Jamie tries to defend Ronsel, he is ultimately overwhelmed by the other men and forced to choose Ronsel's punishment: to take his eyes, tongue, or testicles. Jamie is forced to watch Ronsel's tongue mutilation.

Ronsel is strung up naked and discovered by his own family. Jamie kills his father at night as retribution for the treatment of Ronsel. When Laura goes to check on her father-in-law, she discovers Jamie alone with him.

When Henry returns home, Laura says that his father died peacefully in his sleep. Henry and Jamie dig a grave to bury their father on the farm, in the mud. They learn the spot is a former slave's grave. Henry asks Hap, who is passing through with his family and their possessions, to help him lower the coffin into the ground. Hap helps but refuses to allow his sons to do so. He recites a biblical passage over the body. As the family prepares to leave, with Ronsel hidden in the wagon, Jamie gives the photograph to Florence for her to give to Ronsel. Jamie leaves his brother and family behind and walks away.

The Jacksons find happiness on a new farm. Ronsel, now mute, returns to Germany, where he is united with his girlfriend and son.