Mudbound: The Myth of the American Dream

The history of African Americans is deeply upsetting. No one is under any illusions that the United States treated them well in the past (most of us aren't under any illusions that we treat them well in the present). Every time I watch a movie about slavery or Jim Crow, I am shocked by the level of inhumanity and ignorance that was prevalent during that time, much of which persists to this day and age where we have Nazis parading with tiki torches in the street. So this Black History Month, one of the best things you can watch is Dee Rees' epic movie, Mudbound.

Based on the novel by Hillary Jordan, Mudbound is the story of two families living on a cotton farm in the Mississippi Delta during World War II. Henry and Laura McAllan (Jason Clarke and Carey Mulligan) are city folk from Tennessee who moved to pursue Henry's dream of being a farmer, and they are out of their element. Henry's father, Pappy (Jonathan Banks) also lives with them and he is unconscionably racist and cruel, a state of affairs that is shruggingly accepted by Henry and detested by Laura who has to put up with it. Then you have Hap and Florence Jackson (Rob Morgan and Mary J. Blige), the black tenant farmers who work on the McAllan's farm and are slowly building up their savings to one day own their own land and give their children every opportunity. The two families are poor, but the Jackson home is certainly filled with more love and hope for a rosy future. The first half of the movie is fairly slow, setting up these characters and the uneasy tension between the two families, as they both come to increasingly depend upon each other.

However, the eventual focus of the movie is the relationship between Henry's brother, Jamie (Garrett Hedlund), and the Jacksons' son Ronsel (Jason Mitchell). Both men enlist in the war effort and after victory is declared, they return home to find that America hasn't changed at all since they left. Jamie has severe PTSD and is coping with alcohol as he has no one to give him the support he needs. And Ronsel returns a conquering hero only to discover that unlike in Europe, black people are still treated like dirt in America. His struggle is the most potent, because he got a taste of what it felt to be an equal while he was away at war, and now he cannot even enter a grocery store through the front door. The two men bond through their shared experience in war and strike up a friendship, but if you thought this story has a happy ending, let me refer you back to the first sentence of this post. The history of African Americans is deeply upsetting.

The events in the latter half of this film are difficult to watch but they serve as a stark reminder of what happens when we allow racism and bigotry to continue unchecked in our society. It's a lesson that can never be hammered home enough. Many people allow ignorance and misinformation to fester, assuming that as long as they know it's wrong, it doesn't matter what other people think. But remember, if those other people start to outnumber you, you will be forced to witness atrocities, unable to fight back.

Mudbound is searingly well-told, and fully deserves its Best Adapted Screenplay nomination (writer-director Dee Rees is the first black woman nominated in this category). Mary J. Blige is wonderful and deserving of her Supporting Actress nomination, but I am shocked that Jason Mitchell didn't receive equal consideration as Best Supporting Actor. His performance shook me to my core and I defy anyone to come away from this movie without talking about how his character's story arc made them weep. Finally, Mudbound's cinematographer, Rachel Morrison, received an Oscar nomination for her work. And she is the first woman to EVER be nominated in this category. The first woman in 90 years - as my friend Katie said, I don't know whether to cheer or cry. Simply looking at a few stills from this movie should tell you why she was nominated - she brings Mudbound to life with her sweeping vistas of the farm at sunset, the mud and rain that makes life so difficult, and the flickering light or pitch darkness that surrounds these characters the minute the sun goes down. She captures the beauty and pain of this world, revealing why families would think that this is where they will realize their dreams, and then exposing the dark underbelly that will ruin their hopes. 

Mudbound is a painful but essential film. Watch it. And after you're done shaking your fist at the screen and bemoaning our past, remember that in two weeks, Marvel's Black Panther will be gracing our screens, with Rachel Morrison as cinematographer. And in that movie, her camera will be focused on a sweeping story of black superheroes who control their own destinies and save humanity. It doesn't change our past, but it certainly gives us a better vision of our future. It's about damn time.