Amazing acting...Garrett Hedlund and Rob Morgan especially.
8
All in all a good review, but the plot wasn't complicated, "too much" didn't happen, and the movie was about characters and wartime PTSD as much as it was about racism.
5
Y’ALL. I love Mary J BUT—her accent and demeanor are literally the worst in this film. I honestly believe if she had lived in nawth missippi (misspelling intended) for even one week she could have mastered the accent. Really? Oscar nom? Everyone around her sounds more authentic.
1
I saw it on Netflix. While watching, I thought it was the typical American southern drama, the never ending drama between whites and blacks. I never had black friends, here in California my town is fairly small, “isolated” expensive to live in. We have immigrants, although extremely few number of blacks, I don’t know why.
2
Scott’s review is highly accurate. A Faulkner-esque, multi-character depiction of Southern U.S. life both pre and post WW II, the only thing from which this movie suffers is the overly-laudatory reviews of other Black Story in America films released in recent years.
Highly intelligent with powerful impact, this movie dramatizes life in the rural South and the challenge faced by anyone who hoped to bring a different perspective to it. Director, co-writer Rees displays an excellent eye and a strong management of actors. Given both the large and small scale of this film, who could doubt that Rees is capable of directing many others?
As for a good way to spend your holiday time, even if this movie might not deliver an auteurist personal perspective from the director (or at least, it’s not yet clear), viewers will be benefited from skipping boring impersonal efforts such as “Shape of Water” and “Phantom Thread.” Enjoy the specificity of this movie instead, even if you have worries about still another movie on black suffering. Excellent writing and direction here will overcome any concerns you may have.
12
I hope I am wrong in saying that those most in need of seeing this film will probably choose not to. We have so much evidence that a great many Americans, especially but not exclusively in the south, are not willing to look at our history with clear eyes.
26
All the concern abut pappy being a caricature reflects our white naivete re the existence of small mean lives. They're still out there people, maybe sometimes a bit nuanced these days but with sufficient force and prevalence for us "whities" to be blissfully unaware of the very pervasive ongoing racial prejudice.
24
The term "tenant farmer" IS NOT sterile term. Black men who were tenant farmers were a little better off economically than black men who were "share croppers"-- A tenant farmer paid a flat rent for the land, and the crop he raised was his own. A share cropper, on the other hand, did not pay rent, and so had to split whatever his crop earnings were with the land owner. It was almost impossible to get ahead as "share croppers," because land owners almost always decided what the crop was worth, and how much the share cropper owed them. On the other hand, a tenant farmer could possibly get ahead--as long as he avoided becoming indebted to the owner.
The earnings of share croppers were always determined by the owner, and his share was almost always garnished by the owner; which kept him indebt to the owner; but in the case of the tenant farmer, a fixed sum was paid for rent for a given period of time. A tenant farmer could leave after a bad year, but a sharecropper in debt to the landowner could not
19
A potentially good and useful film ruined by impossibly noble African-American characters. Were the interrelationships in the Jackson family really so perfect? How about a little father-son conflict between Hap and Ronsel - in a real-life black family it certainly would have occurred. I don't buy it. The blatant stereotypes undercut the force of the story. Show us some real people.
And oh, yes, Jonathan Banks is absurdly miscast. Wrong Philadelphia, folks!
2
It seems your idea of a "real-life black family" is skewed. I know plenty of black families that are full of love where the children, especially father and son get along well, the parents are married and there is plenty of love and respect.
21
Somehow the timing of this film seems perfect, exposing the truth of our history in the bright light of day. We are witness to the fact that no group of Americans is all evil, but the origins and intractability of racist hatred still a painful fact of life, are brought into focus. Everyone should see this.
6
I agree with others that this film should be widely seen. People need to understand what has been done to our fellow African American citizens over the years. Perhaps the divisions between good and evil in this film are slightly exaggerated, but on the other hand, I'm not so sure about that. It is excellently done in every way - the finest actors and direction.
18
I've just watched this in the cinema (as we insist on calling it) in the very limited UK release. think it is worth watching on the big screen if you can, just to immerse yourself in it. I'll be honest, I would have been really put off by some of the headlines and the articles about it - they imply the film is incredibly politically correct and self-righteous, designed to make white people feel guilty etc. - and really it's not, it's just a really powerful story well told. I felt I learnt from it but I never felt like I was being lectured or made to feel ashamed.
So far I think all the reviews have understated the level of violence, both in the war scenes and a particularly unpleasant bit near the end, but there are, as Mr Scott writes, some touching moments of human tenderness. Without wanting to give too much away you won't leave completely depressed.
The Mary J Blige song at the end is great by the way.
16
I saw this film last night and I can safely say it should be required viewing for a host of reasons; not only because of the tour de force performances and exquisite cinematography, but because it tackles an issue that has been all but forgotten in this country's quest to deny its own shameful racist past.
It will surprise no one familiar with the cruel and inhuman treatment of African-Americans in the Jim Crow south -- but it will serve as a wake-up call to those who aren't...See it.
22
Two thumbs way up for the sublime films of Ozu. If you have a subscription to Film Struck/Criterion Films you can experience his films. Tokyo Story is a masterpiece.
1
A great movie about humanity and the juxtaposition of two families connected by the same land. If anything, the small scale story is representative of the large scale history of race in the south during the preceding 100 years.
On that note, the title of this article is absolutely disgusting and seeks to politicize and bend the narrative of this great movie to push this author's biases. "Tuned to Black Lives, and White Guilt", as if trying to equate the situation in this movie to BLM, and implying the movie's whole point was to make white people feel guilty? I'm sorry NYT, but this "critic" really missed the ball on why this movie really is so great. It's not about "guilt" or "black lives", it's about the humanity that unites us.
20
I don't use the word "deep" very often... in fact, never in a review or comment, but it's the only word that comes to mind in describing this piece of art. In it, there are nods to Malick, Tony Morrison, E.L. Doctorow and a few of the other great American artists. Someone below commented that the accents weren't "authentic" to the location, well, that may be, I really don't know, but if that is your big beef, you are biting off your own nose to save your face. This movie is brilliant. Also, I have to give a nod to Mary J Blige. That woman blew me away with her touching performance, and, may I add, she looks more beautiful in this film than I've ever seen her, even all made-up for an album cover. Her natural beauty is outstanding.
39
I watched the movie last night. I thought it was OK... not great. Just OK
3
Meh.
Headline writer: Describing this excellent film as "a racial epic" is offensive, rude, and clueless. Cue the whine and cheese from everyone, including this black woman. This film is a painful story, the screenplay is poetically engaging, the cinematography amazing, and the actors all extremely talented. The music soundtrack stands alone from others in catching old gospel.
Mr Scott's review and selection as a critic's pick is absolutely right, except his belief that Jonathan Banks' character bordered on caricature. What a slap to the thousands murdered "way back when."
17
enough is enough.....our country is so divided right now and still nothing new in the film industry, these type movies sicken me.
3
I hear you Lois, but these kinds of films must continue to be made less we forget what this nation's history really contains. It would be nice to forget the past sometimes but if we do that, we will surely repeat it....
32
If learning about historical racism upsets you, imagine what it was like to actually live through it.
I would much rather see a well-made film about important issues like this than the umpteenth superhero movie or video game-inspired claptrap.
75
so true John, thank u for your comment.
2
Raised in the Deep South, just a stone's throw from the Gulf subculture, I approached the trailer for the film with a degree of hope. So far, I am disappointed. As usual with films set in the South (Coen Bros. excepting), the accents are terrible and barely resemble the basic dialect and diction of the region. Indeed, the entire trailer reads as a Yankee's imagination of what the South was like during this time. The real South (whatever that means) was both more terrible and more wonderful than the popular imagination suggests.
I will, of course, see it and hope to learn from it, because even imagined worlds offer startling perspectives into our own. And, truly, perhaps it is only the trailer (accents and dialect aside) that is designed this way and not the film. Even so, I am reminded of the words of Flannery O'Connor: "Of course, I have found that anything that comes out of the South is going to be called grotesque by the Northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it is going to be called realistic."
9
"Of course, I have found that anything that comes out of the South is going to be called grotesque by the Northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it is going to be called realistic."
Because anything that comes out of the South that is grotesque _is_ realistic. By the way, if the Northern concept of the South is what Miss O'Connor claims, then how does one explain the on-going popularity of such Southern-themed filmed as "Birth of a Nation" and "Gone With the Wind" throughout the North?
2
I was disappointed by the film I felt the script was part Faulkner, part Cain & Abel and just everything else thrown in for good measure including "We have seen their Faces" by Walker Evans. The rivalry with the brothers was just completely unnecessary and detracted from the misery (and temptation) of white wife's situation on moving to the country. In the second half, the prime device of the black man leaving by the front door was laughable. The shopkeeper would have clearly told him NOT to enter the store and she would not have waited on him if she was upset. Her tone indicated she welcomed his trade. The reality was that small town stores like that had hours for the black customers, if they were not welcome along with the whites. Typically it was the first hours of the day and the last part of Saturday afternoon. Stores did not have back doors for customers, certainly not the ones I knew as a child in South Carolina. He would have never exited through the living quarters. I don't mean to diminish the raw hatred the film portrayed. I can remember my own family telling black folks to stand in the gutter (and not on the sidewalk) when we were in town. It was surprising that the returned air man was not more vocally attacked for being too familiar with the black soldier. Letting him ride in the front of the the truck was radical. I thought Carey Mulligan carried the picture myself.
2
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words...
5
Oh lord... a "racial" epic? How about a "human story"?
6
Chris, It is both. To not see that race is a powerful force in the lives of the characters is to miss something essential to the story, essential to history itself.
26
Because the story is not about the lives of European peasantry, Chris.
2
Well written review. We look forward to seeing this movie.
9
I stopped reading the novel about a quarter of the way through and will pass on the movie as well. I'd rather listen to "Willie and Laura Mae Jones."
1
I never even heard of this film and was delighted to see it’s already on Netflix. I have it in my queue and definitely plan to watch this film in the next few days
8
One often reads comments that deny the effects of racism and demand proof. Now you can recommend seeing this movie. Not that they'll go.
28
I find it amazing how far Netflix has come. I remember getting my first DVD in the mail (Tokyo Story) and being amazed I could see such a masterpiece without going to a rare retrospective. The idea they'd someday be producing TV series and incredibly moving films like Mudbound screened at Sundance and adored by critics is incredible.
In other news I don't cry over films much (Tokyo Story aside, of course) but Mudbound was heartbreaking and timely and I'll admit it left me in tears. Hats off to Ms. Rees and her cast and crew.
61
Tokyo Story (as well as the rest of Yasujiro Ozu's films) are wonderful. Thank you for mentioning it.
4
This is an extraordinary film. I wept my heart out at that last scene.
Stunning work by everyone involved, and I sincerely hope that this doesn't get passed on at the Oscars.
51
I recently read the book. Which is told in separate narratives from each of the characters. I loved the novel.
Hope I enjoy the translation to the screen.
14
In preparation one might want to read "Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored," with its haunting black and white photographs.
7
"His insistence on behaving like a citizen already puts him at risk: After both world wars, black veterans were frequent targets of white violence."
And after Vietnam, soldiers came home to Nixon's War on Drugs, a major feature of which included social alarm-raising about those heroin-addicted black veterans. Thus helping fuel the drive towards mass incarceration, another period of taking things away from black people to mitigate white failures.
Now we see that one in five veterans uses marijuana to treat chronic pain and PTSD, while the police keep finding ways to arrest POC for pot at several times as white people.
So it's still happening.
66
The ledger that we have of our Grandfather's and family's and mule's daily labors as sharecroppers (we don't understand what is intended by the sterile term, "tenant farmer") in Indianola, Mississippi, Sunflower County, Delta (whatever one needs to call it) from 1928 through 1932, and the generations of sadness, alcoholism, family misery, destruction of hope, anger, dysfunction, etc. that those ledger pages inaugurate and bring to life, make me more than a little nervous about seeing this on film, alone or with my fellow man, listening to the din of munching popcorn, crying obligatorily, and seeking really smart catharsis in the span of 2 hours and a post-viewing starbucks run. The experience, if you will, was and is too sacred for cinema, "novels" or museums. It is intended solely for the surgery of Justice, not for debate and understanding by artisans and the "metoo" generation. Sadly, it looks like we are out of surgeons -- just movie people.
33
Theo, I am sorry you feel that way. I think art of all sorts has greater potential to enlighten and change society. Literature and cinema can be powerful muses for justice, by creating empathy through story, image, sound.
51
A beautiful assessment Theo. Thanks for your incisive comment.
3
Many people don’t know about the degredation of sharecroppimg. The film shows it, which is good. The cast is amazingly good. Great, sad film with hope as a possibility.
19