Mudbound

And once again Netflix brings us good cinema. Just when I started to doubt them. Thank goodness.
Mudbound is filled with hatred, hurt, heart and compassion and it tells a story of two families who try to make a living on the countryside of Mississippi. One is a family of color, other is not. Timeline when this happens is a bit during and mostly after World War II. Both of these families had one member joining and returning from duty. They both struggle, just in different ways. And that is what this piece is about.
I hadn't seen anything else from the director Dee Rees beforehand but this movie has me assured I will give a try from anything she makes in years to come.
When it comes to acting I am ready to praise the villain of the movie - played by Jonathan Banks. When a character can bring out such strong emotions out of me it deserves a notice. This is the time when I can say I loved that I hated someone.
Not in the spotlight for me but Rob Morgan, Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund and Jason Clarke also brought in some fine, diverse and believable performances portraying very different people in different life situations. I thank everyone.
Enjoyed hearing some of that gospel type of singing. What is more, I always appreciate seeing hard work done. And by hard work I mean labor, that getting-down-and-doing-the-dirty-ground-work not sitting in front of piece of paper, computer, phone, you name it.
Apart from seeing things I also enjoyed hearing quite a lot of monologues that went on in their minds. That was pleasant and felt like a little but cool change from other movies I have lately seen (and not written reviews, forgive me).
What I found as a problem was that it was too dark at times. And I mean literally-it lacked some lighting, especially at the beginning of the movie. It was almost pitch black and I couldn't see what was happening. I hope it might be a Netflix brightness thing or something. Another little thing was that some scenes felt too long.

All in all this was a strong enough movie to compete in getting some Golden Globes. I truly believe it. Not sure about the Academy Awards (though I would be happy to see it nominated).
This one got my attention and even reached my feeling hiding place. I cared. It deserves a review. Thank you. Thank you Mississippi and your damn heavy rain which brings trouble to farmers (not the main plot of the film, don't get excited).

Rating: ★★★★