Mudbound follows two families, the Jacksons and the McAllans, one black one white, in the Mississippi Delta who farm on the same land. Two sons from each respective family return to the Delta after serving in World War II, and struggle to find their place in the rural south after their experiences abroad during wartime.
Mudbound is time capsule that displays the complications of America’s history of race and its effects on citizens of every level. We see how black people must navigate the Jim Crow south, from Florence (Mary J. Blige) helping to care for Henry and Laura’s daughters partially out of concern for what could happen if she refused and Ronsel’s (Jason Mitchell) constant conflict with white men over his newfound refusal of race-based capitulation upon his return from the war.
As much as the film is an examination of American race relations, it’s also about war and its after effects on the human mind and spirit. Ronsel returns to the Delta both a with a new sense of independence and a longing for the freedom and sense of purpose provided by his service while Jamie has just inherited the post-traumatic stress and alcoholism stemming from being witness to death and destruction.
I interpreted the film’s title as tying directly into the story in two ways. “Mudbound” means that despite any superficial differences, we are all bound together by the environment we share. For Jamie and Ronsel, this means their experiences during war, and their struggles to re-adapt upon returning home, which forge their unlikely friendship. But this concept of “Mudbound” also means that despite any individual efforts to buck the prevailing culture of our environs, we remain “bound” to the status quo which we are surrounded by. This again is shown through Jamie and Ronsel’s relationship and their wartime experiences, this time through the reaction that engenders from Poppy. Poppy is continually bothered by Jamie’s acceptance of Ronsel, and the final straw, Ronsel’s relationship with Resl and their mixed race child. Despite Jamie and Ronsel’s changed attitudes and their attempts to buck what is expected from them as white and black southern men, they are tethered to the attitudes of their surrounding and ultimately fall victim to the consequences of thumbing their noses at those that enforce them.
Mudbound is a steady, understated look at the ties that bind us all and America’s enduring struggle with race. The ensemble works in totality and despite a convenient, slightly too neat ending, it’s definitely worth your time.
Image: Netflix
