Carey Mulligan to work with Dee Rees
Thursday, March 24, 2016 at 9:20AM Murtada here. Carey Mulligan is continuing her quest to collaborate with the most interesting directors. After Luhrmann, the Coens, McQueen, Refn and Vinterberg, it’s time for Dee Rees (Pariah, HBO’s Bessie). The two are planning to work on an adaptation of Hillary Jordan’s 2009 novel Mudbound. Rees will write and direct, Jason Clarke, Garrett Hedlund and Straight Outta Compton’s standout Jason Mitchell will co-star.
Despite what Mulligan claimed her agent told her after watching Suffragette (2015); 'Darling, you're lovely in it, but blue jeans film next”, it’s another period piece. Although this time it’s set post WWII in Jim Crow’s South. Mulligan will play a city bred woman who is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta cotton farm, and her entanglements with two soldiers returning home from the war - one of them is white and her brother-in-law, and the other is black, a son of the sharecroppers who live on the farm. The story deals with among other things the extreme racial prejudice of that era. We assume Clarke is the husband, Hedlund the brother-in-law and Mitchell is the other soldier.
Carey should have no problem this time since she's not working with a man
It is an exciting collaboration since Rees proved a distinctive cinematic voice with Pariah and that she had an eye for period drama with Bessie. Mulligan is always fascinating on screen, although perhaps she hasn’t quite yet found a film that allowed her to soar as high as she did on stage last year in Skylight. And it’s nice to see Mitchell get a chance to capitalize on his impressive breakout. The project is in early stages and hasn’t secured full financing yet so lets hope it sticks.
Has anyone read the novel? Should we be excited?
Reader Comments (6)
Well, considering the period (post WWII USA), it's technically accurate that she might be wearing blue jeans.
Sort of disappointed this is a white girl vehicle for Rees. Happy for Mitchell who deserves all the opportunities in the world. But Dee's strength as a filmmaker is how she writes and photographs black women interacting with each other. Bessie is a mess as a movie to me. And the only redemptive qualities it had came from the performances, the slickness of the production, and the idiosyncratic gift of Rees to paint fully developed and authentic portrayals of black women without concern for the patriarchal white gaze.
If Dee Rees works with a 'black girl' it's great, if she works with a 'white girl' it's great too. She's working, and that should be all that matters.
Why do some people insist on creating division? Yet they don't think they are.
RobMiles - I don't think that 3rtful is creating division on this occasion, merely observing that it would be great if a promising black female director could find bigger opportunities while also focusing on her strengths and bringing black female actors to the foreground for a third time.
Nobody expects Rees to be able to do so at this moment, isn't it more a wistful hope that one day she might though!?
Anyway, while I'm defending Cruel Intentions today I might as well go full steam ahead -
My favourite Carey Mulligan performance is Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Before I leave, Shame is second...
@RobMiles
some people on this blog thrive on divisiveness.
we don't even know yet if there won't be black actresses involved... this is the preliminary casting of name actors to secure funding