Mary J. Blige received her first Oscar nomination for her performance as Florence Jackson in Mudbound.
Mudbound is an excellent movie about two families, one white and one black, living in rural Mississippi in the aftermath of World War II. I found the movie to be a rather striking depiction of that historical period and director Dee Rees deserves a lot of credit for crafting this story in a way that can be both shatteringly brutal and subtly, beautifully delicate. Voice-over is a tricky technique as it can often come off as an overly easy expedient, but it works here because of how exsquisitely written those inner monologues are: the screenplay is great not just because of the eloquence and beauty of the lines but also because of its ability to humanize most of its central characters. It's an empathetic movie with great attention for subtleties and details and it is certainly enriched by a strong ensemble, with Jason Mitchell and Garrett Hedlund being especially remarkable. Rachel Morrison's cinematography effectively captures the lonesome beauty of the landscape enhancing the sometimes threatening, sometimes tender and sometimes sad atmosphere of the movie.
When the movie premiered at Sundance, Blige's performance received a rapturous response from critics: the extremely high expectations were probably the reasons why quite a few people found themselves quite disappointed by her work once the movie was released by Netflix. It's easy to see why Blige's work was underwhelming to some people: it's a character that spends a lot of its screen-time in the background and that doesn't get many big scenes, especially if compared to other characters in the movie. I went into the movie without expecting much for Blige's performance - and by the end of the movie, I was completely won over. This is not a showy performance, but her quiet performance is in many ways the movie's backbone. I found her work here to be exceptionally intriguing: I found myself searching for her reactionary work in the corner of the frame - even if the other actors get showier parts, I often found myself looking for the character of Florence, looking forward to see her quiet reaction to the events. She rarely gets the spotlight, but she doesn't need it: she says everything without needing to speak at all.
One of the most remarkable aspects of Blige's performance is her ability to get rid of her usual persona and disappear effortlessly into the role. But not only she convincingly portrays the character, but she has a surprisingly brilliant understanding of the character, which is especially impressive if you consider she does not have a lot of experience in acting: in her stoic, silent performance you can read the character's whole history to the point that you don't need the voice-over to know what she's thinking - Blige conveys everything through her confident, assured performance. She is excellent in her scenes with her family: Blige imbues Florence with an underlying yet firm sense of warmth though without a hint of sentimentality. And she shares an amazing chemistry with both Jason Mitchell, who plays her eldest son Ronsel, and Rob Morgan, who plays her husband Hap. In her scenes with the former, she's great at portraying Florence's motherly love: their first scene in the movie, in which she tells him goodbye but refuses to look at him as he goes away, is a heartbreaking moment outstandingly acted by Blige who portrays so well Florence's plight but also her strength and determination to keep it bottled up. Once Ronsel returns from the war, Blige captures so well the concern and helplessness of a mother who wants to help her son but doesn't know how. This doesn't mean their relationship turns sour though and together they create one of the most heartwarming moments of the whole movie: the scene I'm referring to is the one in which Ronsel buys a chocolate bar for Florence and insists that she doesn't share it with anyone else because he wants to have it all for herself. It's a beautiful moment, and Blige's heartfelt, moving reaction is a big reason why. And she's splendid in her moments with Morgan, wih the two actors conveying so beautifully the love between Florence and Hap in such an unassaming, heartfelt fashion. Their dancing scene is a tender, lovely moment and the two actors are absolutely wonderful in it.
She is also terrific in the scenes that depict Florence working for the McAllans, the white family. I particularly love the scene in which Hap tells her he doesn't her to work for white people but she says "I wouldn't be working for them, I'd be working for us": Blige is fantastic at portraying Florence's pragmatism above everything else - she isn't crazy about the idea herself, but she knows that she has to accept some compromises for the family to move somewhere better. In the scenes at work, Blige excels at showing her pride and unwillingness to be treated like a slave - she's polite but never subservient - but also her awareness that she does not have the McAllans' social privilege. I particularly love her chemistry with Carey Mulligan - Blige is outstanding at showing how Florence does genuinely like Laura and think of her as a good person, but also her unwillingness to get close to her and to consider her a friend. She's especially great in the scene in which Florence comforts Laura after the latter has suffered a miscarriage - Blige brings just enough warmth to the scene but also conveys a certain distance in her manner: Florence can't afford to get attached to Laura - there's too much at stake for her and for her own family.
I get that this performance might not appeal to anyone, and I can see why someone would feel she did nothing in this movie. But for me this is a fantastic performance from Mary J. Blige, who makes Florence the beating heart of the movie: it's a subtle, reserved, layered and rich piece of work, crafting a three-dimensional human being despite often staying in the background. She quietly leaves an impression whenever she appears and when the movie is over it's her performance that leaves the strongest impact. A terrific piece of work.
4.5/5
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