Grade: B
A Netflix original movie is nominated for 4 Academy Awards. Best Supporting Actress (Mary J. Blige), Screenplay, Cinematography, and Song. The film is called Mudbound, and it has been on Netflix since the middle of November. I had to see it to complete my Oscar canon for the year. It was an interesting viewing experience. After a strong opening scene, it went south quickly and I didn’t find its first half much to write home about. But then in the second hour, it started to get decent-ish. Then it got really good, with some excellent scenes and moments.
Mudbound takes us through the trials and tribulations of two families – one white, one black – on a farm in Mississippi during World War 2. It’s a slice of life, but more specifically, racism, farming, and post-traumatic stress disorder, to name a few. There is an annoying amount of voice-over narration throughout, coming from whoever happens to be the main character in that scene. This is often a lazy storytelling technique, and most of the time it is here, but towards the end, it’s used in a way that provides us with information we otherwise wouldn’t get. Aside from the aforementioned Blige, Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) is the father of one of the families, and Jonathan Banks (Mike from Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul) makes a memorable impression as the Clarke character’s curmudgeonly, sarcastic racist dad, who is a member of a certain white sheet wearing organization.
After a rocky start, I was on board with Mudbound by the end. Things ramp up and the plot thickens to propel itself nicely into its conclusion, which is rich with complications and will inspire multiple emotions for different characters, for very different reasons. For a Netflix Original, this is a worthy effort, and I hope it leads to more high-profile award recognition for them.
Grade: B
Film Reviews by Mark 
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