Dee Rees’ finely crafted third feature MUDBOUND—the Opening Night selection at this year’s AFI Fest—illustrates the perils of the too-faithful adaptation. In a series of sketches of post-Second World War life in the Mississippi delta—based on the source novel by Hillary Jordan—a group of very compelling characters is left stranded, perhaps casualties of the demands of the two-hour narrative.

Of particular interest is the truncated friendship between veterans Ronsel (Jason Mitchell)—the eldest son of a sharecropper—and Jamie (Garrett Hedlund), the younger brother of the owner of the farm.

Expectations are high for Rees’ recently announced fourth feature, now in pre-production: the Gloria Steinem biopic An Uncivil War, starring MUDBOUND lead Carey Mulligan.

 

MUDBOUND

Now playing.

Monica Film Center

1332 2nd Street, Santa Monica.

Laemmle Noho

5240 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood.

 

Landmark

10850 Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles.

Also on Netflix.

Above: Dee Rees at the Variety Portrait Studio during the opening night gala screening of Mudbound, AFI Fest, Thursday, November 9, 2017. Image credit: AFI.

Jason Mitchell (left) and Garrett Hedlund in Mudbound. Image credit: Netflix.