- Culture
- 16 Nov 17
Directed by Dee Rees (Bessie, Pariah), Mudbound is the story of two families who find themselves embroiled in a conflict based on social hierarchy in the American Deep South during World War II.
Starring Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige, Rob Morgan, Jonathan Banks and Garrett Hedlund, Mudbound follows the McAllan family, newly transplanted from the quiet civility of Memphis and unprepared for the harsh demands of farming. Despite the grandiose dreams of Henry (Jason Clarke), his wife Laura (Carey Mulligan) struggles to keep the faith in her husband's losing venture. Meanwhile, Hap and Florence Jackson (Rob Morgan, Mary J. Blige) — sharecroppers who have worked the land for generations — struggle bravely to build a small dream of their own despite the rigidly enforced social barriers they face.
The war upends both families' plans as their returning loved ones, Jamie McAllan (Garrett Hedlund) and Ronsel Jackson (Jason Mitchell), forge a fast but uneasy friendship that challenges the brutal realities of the Jim Crow South in which they live.
Described by Rees as a drama based around "class, friendship and the unending struggle against 'the land'".
"The characters are pitted against a landscape that feels personified", she added. "Like a Western."
Mudbound is released on Friday, 17 November 2017.
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Watch the trailer below: