Mudbound’ a moving, literary epic of family, race
Perhaps it’s a sign of the times that after seeing an epic story as poetically told as Dee Rees’ “Mudbound,’’ feelings of awe and admiration are quickly replaced with frustration that Hollywood hasn’t traditionally embraced the artistic visions of people who aren’t white and male.
Maybe it’s because feelings are so raw in this post-Weinstein era, where the obstacles women face on their way to success are just beginning to be publicly understood.
“Mudbound’’ is beautiful, complex and flawless, regardless of who made it. That it happens to come from a queer black woman is both significant and irrelevant: Brilliance is brilliance, no matter its packaging. But given Hollywood’s
exclusive (and potentially abusive) power structure, some brilliance must fight harder than others to be heard, and we may never know what lesshardy voices have been silenced through the years by harassment and discrimination.
Themes of prejudice and discrimination are also central to the story of “Mudbound,’’ based on the award-winning 2008 novel by Hillary Jordan.
Set in the American South in the early 1940s, it’s both a tale of two families, one black and one white, and a portrait of an era beset by racism and rigid social rules.
Rees’ telling is literary and cinematic, striking with both words and images. Her script with Virgil Williams captures Jordan’s writing style and the characters’ distinct voices as they alternately narrate the story. And the stunning photography by Rachel Morrison — leafy woods, lightdappled buildings, watercolour sunsets across enormous skies — creates a beautifully bucolic setting for the ugly racism that brings life-altering pain to both families.
Like a novel, the story gradually then completely absorbs as the characters reveal themselves. Though there are many, each is wholly drawn.