Right, time for a bit of post revisitation as I will be having another look at one of my older posts from this blog and the one I have chosen to redo is of the critically acclaimed drama film, Mississippi Burning.
So, after 30 years (yep its been that long!) how does Mississippi Burning still hold up? Well, let's find out....
And the usual warning is coming up...
PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!
STORY
So the film begins with the murder of three civil rights activists in Jessup county in Mississipi who were sent to set up voting registries for the minority groups. As a result the FBI send two agents, Rupert Anderson (Hackman) and Alan Ward (Defoe) to investigate, however they have a difficult time trying to talk to the local townsfolk as the town is under the control Sherrif Stuckey (Gailard Sartain) and his deputies exert their influence who are also connected to the Ku Klux Klan. During their investigations, the Klan members begin to make things worse for the black townsfolk as they terrorise them in an effort to force the agents to leave, however the two men continue with their investigations.
Anderson in the meantime befriends the wife of Sherrif Stuckey's deputy, Clinton Pell (Brad Douriff and the Mrs Pell is played by Frances McDormand) in an effort to get information from her. And Mrs Pell later reveals to Anderson that the three civil rights workers were indeed murdered and buried in an earthen dam and as a result their bodies are exhumed and Stuckey soon confronts Pell to go and deal with his wife for telling the FBI, which leads to Pell going back home and beating his wife, who is hospitalised as a result.
Anderson arrives at the hospital with Ward already present the two of them argue but Ward says to Anderson he wants to go after Stuckey and the others and prosecute by any means necessary, which Anderson agrees to. And from here the two agents work together to try and bring down Stuckey, Pell and the others...
THOUGHTS
There is no question that Mississippi Burning is a powerful film and tells an important story of great historical relevance of the troubled times during the 1960s in the deep south in America. The film itself is also based on true events that surrounded the disappearance of three civil rights workers, who were murdered in Neshoba county in Mississippi in June 1964 although certain liberties had to be taken with the facts of the events due to legal reasons (as is often the case with these films).
And the film paints a pretty unflinching picture of the attitudes of the time of the locals who treated the African Americans with contempt as well as the terrorising created by the Ku Klux Klan. The film also naturally has some powerful and disturbing scenes which really strike a chord in the viewer and its something in which it really succeeds in doing and making you realise just how ugly the attitudes of the Klan were.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers and strong language!).
Performance wise things are excellent all round as a great cast deliver top notch acting.
Starting with Gene Hackman who is superb as Anderson, the wisened, genial but veteran FBI agent who was formerly from Jessup county himself.
Hackman has many great moments in the film of which I will name a few such as his first scene where Anderson sings the Ku Klux Klan's anthem song from a sheet and he sings "Never, never, never I say! The Ku Klux Klan are here to stay!" amd he laughs and says to Ward "These Ku Klux's are better with their lynchins than their lyrics!". And after they chat for a little bit, to break the tension, Anderson tells Ward a joke "What's got four eyes and can't see?" and Ward says "I don't know" and Anderson laughs and says "Mississipi!".
Then there is the scene where Anderson tells Ward a story about his dad who years ago who poisoned a mule belonging to a black farmer out of jealousy. And Anderson says to Ward "And I looked at my daddy and I knew he'd done it and he was ashamed. And he said "if you ain't better than a nigger, son, who are you better than?". And Ward asks Anderson "And where did that leave you?" and Anderson says "With an old man that was so full of hate he didn't know that being poor was what was killing him". However at this point a gunshot sounds and shatters their motel bedroom window and Anderson yells to Ward "GET THE LIGHT! GET THE LIGHT!" and Ward knocks it over and then runs out into the street to find a burning cross and Anderson joins him and Ward says "I guess they know we're here!".
And then there is the scene where Anderson pays a visit to Pell's social club where one of Pell's men, the thuggish Klan member, Frank Bailey (played chillingly by Michael Rooker) threatens him to leave town. And Anderson responds by grabbing Frank's balls and saying "You get this straight, shit-kicker! Don't you go mistaking me for some whole other body! You must have your brains in your dick if you think we are just gonna fade away. We're gonna stay until this thing is finished!". Anderson then looks to Pell and angrily asks "What about you deputy? Is that gun just for show, or do you get to shoot people once in a while?!" and Pell angrily warns him "Just keep pushing me, Hoover boy!". Anderson then let's Frank go, who falls over in agony and Anderson drinks up and says to Pell "Thanks for the beer!".
And last of all is the great scene where Anderson confronts Pell at the barber shop, as he takes over from the barber to shave Pell and ends up cutting his face with the straight razor and beating him.
So, in the scene Anderson takes over from the barber and starts to shave Pell and nicks his skin a little and Anderson and grins and says "This is tricky! They make it look so easy, don't they?". So, Anderson tells him what he knows of the night of the murders of the civil rights workers and that he gave a speech saying that they "struck a blow for the white man" that night.
So, Anderson tries to contain his anger as he asks Pell " Did you make a speech the night that you beat up your wife, Clinton? Huh? Did ya? Did you strike a blow for the white man that night? Huh?!". Anderson then angrily grabs Pell and shouts at him "You got a stupid smile, Pell!" and he thrusts Pell's face into a mirror and he shouts "CAN YOU SEE IT?!". Anderson then throws Pell up against a wall and shouts a him "Did you smile when the bulldozer ran over the black kid's body???! DID YA?!" and he thrusts Pell's face into a sink filled with water and pulls him back out. Anderson continues furiously "Did ya smile when the bodies were covered over?!" and he throws Pell toward a wall and Pell falls over. Anderson then grabs Pell and picks him up and shouts "Did you smile that same stupid smile?! DID YA?!" and he slaps him in the face and throws him toward a line of chairs, which Pell crahses into. And outside we see Ward look exasperated by Anderson's tactics and tries to go in but Ward's fellow agents warn him off and Ward gives in and leaves.
So, after Anderson ass-whips Pell, he throws him back into the barber's chair and he holds the razor close to Pell's throat and he says menacingly to Pell "Make no mistake about it deputy, I'll cut your fuckin head clear off and not give a shit how it reads on the report sheet!!!". Anderson then pushes the barber's chair just before he walks out, which causes it to spin around with Pell's limp form still in it.
Willem Defoe is also excellent in his part as the serious and assertive Ward, who at times is at odds with Anderson's methods but they pull together in their attempts to bring down the perpetrators behind the killings.
Defoe also has some good moments in the film such as his first scene with Hackman where Ward and Anderson drive to Jessup county and Anderson looks at a song sheet for a KKK song. So, as Anderson sings it and finishes with the chorus "The Ku Klux Klan are here to stay!" Ward says to him "Just read the file, Mr Anderson. I can do without the cabaret". Anderson smiles and says "You don't like me much, do you boss?" and Ward says "Sure I like you. I just don't share your sense of humour!". So, after Anderson teases Ward a bit more, Anderson asserts himself and says "Let's get this straight. I haven't had a pimple in years, I shave every morning and I go to the bathroom myself so you can cut out this boss stuff".
Then there is the scene where Ward arrives during a meeting held by the local Klan, headed by Clayton Townley (played by Stephen Tobolowsky) and Pell tells Ward to leave saying "Its a damn political meeting, Hoover boy!". And Ward says "Oh it looks like a political meeting but it smells more like clan to me...with or without the Halloween costumes!".
Another scene is when Ward and Anderson witness from afar some black people rioting and Anderson says to Ward "You know if I was a negro, I'd probably think the same way they do" and Ward replies "If you were a negro no one would give a damn what you thought!".
Then there is the great scene between Anderson and Ward when they fight outside the hospital just after Ward has been brought over and sees that Mrs Pell has been hospitalised after her beating at the hands of her husband. So, in the scene Anderson arrives at the hospital and sees Mrs Pell and then he walks out in disgust and Ward goes after him.
So, Ward shouts after Anderson "Mr Anderson! STOP! Mr Anderson! I'm telling you to stop and I mean!" and Anderson in disgust says "Go to hell!". Ward then follows him and says "We're not killers. That's the difference between them and us!" but Anderson insists "No, that's the difference between them and YOU!". Ward then follows Anderson outside and tells him "Don't go messing this up just because you're partial to foolin around with witnesses!". This then sets off Anderson who shouts "Why you...!" and he slaps Ward and the two of them struggle and Ward manages to pull out his gun and holds it to Anderson's head.
So, Anderson angrily tells him "It don't mean shit to have gun unless you mean to use it!" and Ward warns him "I'll you right now unless you listen to what I have to tell you!" and Anderson defiantly says "Fuck you!". Then after Anderson let's go of Ward, Ward tells him "We'll go after them, all of them, together!" and Anderson says "You wouldn't know how!" and Ward says "You'll teach me how!". Anderson however disbelieving says "You don't have the guts!" and Ward tells him "Not only do I have the guts, I have the authority!" and Anderson asks "What is that supposed to mean?" and Ward says "New rules. We nail them, anyway we can. Even your way!". Anderson, puzzled by Ward's sudden change of heart, asks him "Is this you talkin or some guy pullin your strings?!" and Ward tells him "Both!".
And lastly there is the scene toward the end of the film after the indictments are handed down for those involved in the killings, Ward finds the local town mayor, Mayor Tilman (Lee Ermey) has hung himself and Ward's fellow agent, Mr Bird asks why he did it as he wasn't in on it and Ward says "No he was guilty alright. Just as guilty as the fanatics who pull the trigger. Maybe we all are".
The supporting cast are also excellent such as Frances McDormand who plays Mrs Pell married to the deputy, who is a decent woman caught up in the lies and deceit and eventually confides in Anderson over where the civil rights workers were buried.
Frances also has a really good scene where Mrs Pell confides to Anderson one night at the hairdressers where she works and filled with shame and remorse, tells him how she feels about all the racial hatred. So, Mrs Pell emotionally tells Anderson "It's ugly. This whole thing is so ugly. Have you any idea what it's like to live with all this? People look at us and only see bigots and racists. Hatred isn't something you're born with. It gets taught. At school, they said segregation what's said in the Bible... Genesis 9, Verse 27. At 7 years of age, you get told it enough times, you believe it. You believe the hatred. You live it... you breathe it. You marry it".
WARNING: BIG SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH
And lastly there is the scene near the end where after Mrs Pell get's out of hospital, having recovered from her beating at the hands of her husband, Anderson visits her at her home, which has been trashed (presumably by Pell himself before his imprisonment).
So, in the scene Anderson asks Mrs Pell "Where are you gonna go?" and she tells him "I'm not goin' anywhere. I'm stayin'. This is my home. Born here. Probably die here. If I wanted to leave, I would've done it a long time ago. Things'll work out. There's enough good people around here know what I did was right. And enough ladies like the way I fix their hair". Anderson then smiles and makes to leave and she says to him "Hey. If you're ever in Des Moines...don't send me a postcard".
Brad Douriff is also excellent in his role as the soften spoken and creepy deputy Sherrif Pell, who is one of the KKK leaders.
Douriff also has some excellent moments in the film such as the scene where Anderson pays an uninvited visit to the social club where Pell and his buddies are drinking. So, as Anderson walks in, they stop chatting and Anderson asks "You got anything to drink here?" and Pell tells him "You have to be a member to drink here" and Anderson scornfully laughs and asks "A member?! A member of what?" and Pell says "A member of the social club".
So, as Pell allows Anderson to have a beer, Anderson tries to humour them with his stories as a sherrif back when he lived in Jessep county himself, however Pell and the others aren't interested. So, Pell tells Anderson "We ain't too interested in your good ol stories, Mr Anderson. You ain't from around here no more".
Then there is the scene where Douriff as Pell delivers the film's most singularly disturbing line when Pell sees Mrs Pell hold a black baby belonging to black mother. So after the mother leaves, Pell looks on and says to his wife "Funny, they're kids are so cute" and he walks back into the house leaving Mrs Pell looking unsettled.
As for other cast members Stephen Tobolowsky is also very good in his role as the loathsome town spokesman, Clayton Townley.
And I will mention one of Stephen's scenes and its the one where Townley is interviewed on television and asked if he is a spokesman for the Ku Klux Klan. So, Townley firmly tells the press "I told you, I'm a businessman. I'm also a Mississippian, and an American! And I'm getting SICK and TIRED of the way us Mississippians are getting our views distorted by you newsmen and on the TV. So let's get this straight. We do NOT accept Jews, because they REJECT Christ! And their control over the International Banking Cartels are at the root of what we call Communism today. We do not accept Papists, because they bow to a Roman dictator! We do not accept Turks, Mongrels, Tartars, Orientals nor Negroes because we are here to protect Anglo-Saxon Democracy, and the American way!".
Michael Rooker proves to be quite chilling in his part as the Klan member, Frank Bailey, who's most disturbing scene comes when masked along with a group of other Klan members, all wearing sheets terrorise and attack a group of black parishoners leaving church.
And there are two scenes worth a mention for Rooker, such as the one where Frank leads an attack on a black parish and afterward, Frank brutally kicks a young black boy, Aaron in the face and grabs him saying "You already been told once, nigger! If you go making any more trouble by sqwaking those boot-lips off to any of those Federal men, then we sure as hell gonna have to put you in the ground, boy! And that's without a pine box!".
And lastly there is the scene where Anderson turns up unexpectedly at the Klan's social club where Pell, Frank and the others are. So, as Anderson fails to humour them, Frank tries to intimate him into leaving and he warns Anderson "Why don't you get the hell on out of here and back to your nigger lovin Commie bosses up North?!". Anderson then smiles and says "You obviously don't know my boss, Mr Hoover. He's not too fond of commies! He'd be on your side there!". Frank however is not interested and with menace tells him "I don't give two shits which side your Mr Hoover's on boy! As far as I'm concerned we've got 5000 niggers in this county without a single registered vote and as far as I'm concerned they never will! Unless its over my dead body, or over alot of dead niggers!".
So, Anderson now a little riled asks Frank "You'd kill Frank? Is that what your saying?" and Frank coldly says "I wouldn't give it any more thought than wrining a cat's neck! And there wouldn't be a court in Mississipi that would convict me for it!". Frank then grabs Anderson and angrily says "Get this straight, you corn-holin' fucker. You tell your queer-ass nigger bosses that they ain't never gonna find those civil rightsers down here! So you might as well pack up and go back up North where you came from and..." and then Anderson suddenly grabs Frank by the balls and warns him not to underestimate him before letting him go.
Gailard Sartain is also very good in his role as the bigoted Sheriff Stuckey, who sneakily stays in the background while playing a big part in orchestrating the KKK attacks on the African Americans in town.
I will mention just one of Sartain's scenes, which is the one where Stuckey is harrassed by TV reporters after the FBI make the hunt for the missing civil rights workers public. So, Stuckey tells the reporters "Tell you what I think they oughta be doin'.Lookin' up in Canada for them boys,.....instead of our swamps around here. I'll tell you somethin' else. I think it's a stunt dreamed up by NAAC people. NAACP. Know what it stands for? Niggers, Alligators, Apes, Coons and Possums. Tell you what you got. You got your NAACP. You got your SNCC. You got your COFO. You know what all that mess is? B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T!".
Lee Ermey also provides a good performance as Mayor Tilman, who plays up his part in publicly denying any of the locals provoking and terrorising the blacks.
So, two of his senes I will mention are firstly the one where Tilman addresses some TV reporters "If the entire Secret Service couldn't protect the President of the United States, how the HELL are WE supposed to protect a few negroes! It is nothing more than some poor white trash drinking too much cheap alcohol. More likely paint thinner and snake juice because this state's as dry as a martini, and we've got the alcoholics to prove it!".
And the second is when Tilman confronts Anderson and Ward angrily over their continual presence in the town and he tells them "Any jackass can point a finger, but that ain't evidence. Us old cotton-choppers are still stupid enough to believe in democracy!". So, Anderson teases him and says "You know something alright, I'd bet a cotton-choppin dollar on that!" which angers Tilman and he says "You know something, Anderson, you're beginning to get so far up my nose, I'm starting to feel your boots on my chin!". So Tilman angrily tells Ward "And I'm tellin' you one more time, Mr Apple Red. A couple of crazies in bedsheets dancin' round the countryside scarin' Negroes...is not the fault of the entire state of Mississippi!".
Darius McCrary is also very good in his role as Aaron Williams, a brave young African American boy, who stands up to all the racial prejudice in town and later pays for.
And I will mention one of his scenes where Anderson and Ward turn up at a meeting held by African Americans and Aaron tells the others at the meeting "One day we won't have to say "Good morning, sir, Mr Sheriff." Maybe there'll come a time when we won't have to say "Mr Stuckey". One day there'll come a time when we'll just say "Stuckey" or "Sheriff". And one day there'll come a time when the sheriff won't even be a white man".
Then afterward, Anderson and Ward approach Aaron and his father, and Anderson tries to get them to talk about what happened. So, Anderson says "Sorry about interruptin' your meeting but we can't get anybody to talk to us. They zip up, like my momma used to say!". So, Arron tells Anderson "People don't wanna talk to you because they're afraid it'll get back to the law and Ward says "We are the law" but Aaron's father tells him "Not round here you ain't". Aaron then suggests to Ward "It ain't coloured folks you should talk to" and Ward asks "Who should we talk to?" and Aaron says "You should start at the sherrif's office". Ward impressed by Aaron's bravery asks him "How come you aren't afraid?" and Aaron asks him "How come you ain't?" and he walks off, leaving Ward with a smile on his face.
Pruitt Taylor Vince is also suitably creepy and effective in his role as Lester, one of the KKK group, who is not too bright and is ultimately intimidated by the FBI into testifying against his fellow cohorts.
And Taylor-Vince delivers one of the most memorable and shocking lines in the film, which happens at the start of the film where we hear the gunshots fired that kill the civil rights workers. So, Lester is heard saying the line "You only left me a nigger, but at least I shot me a nigger!".
And last of all is Badja Djola who is excellent in his brief role as FBI Agent Monk, an African American agent, who abducts and intimidates Mayor Tilman.
So, in his main scene, Monk takes Tilman to a shack and wearing a KKK-esque hood, he removes it to reveal that he is a black man and he looks at Tilman in disgust and says "You...!" and he then goes on to tell Tilman a story.
So, Monk says "I'm gonna tell you a story. A kid named Homer Wilkes lives 30 miles north of here. He'd just taken his girlfriend home and was walking along the road. A truck pulls up beside him. Four white boys took him for a ride. Now Homer, he headn't done anything, except be a Negro. They took him to a shack, a regular old shack like this one. Then they took out a razor blade" and he produces a razor blade. So, Monks continues "Ragged old razor blade, like this one. They pulled down his pants, they spread his legs, and they sliced off his scrotum!". Monk the angrily asks Tilman "Then they put it in a coffee cup, like this one. Mayor, do you know how much you bleed when someone cuts off your balls?! HUH?!!" and he throws the cup at him. Monk finishes and says "When they found Homer, he looked like he head been dipped in blood up to his waist. He was barely alive when they got him to the hospital, and he can barely walk now!".
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
Moving onto the film's director, Alan Parker does an excellent job here and keeps the film's pace tight and builds up the suspense and film's disturbing and uncomfortable atmosphere but he also leads the film towards its somewhat righteous climax. The film also was notable for being nominated for several oscars including best picture, best director, best actor and supporting actress but it lost out on all except the oscar for best photography by Peter Biziou, who's photography for the film is terrific and it is visually stylish and quite striking.
Parker himself received a great deal of criticism from various African American activist groups, who criticised the film for depicting black people as passive onlookers without a voice. However, Parker himself defended the film saying while it was to an extent fictitious, it was also in the spirit of showing what those times were like.
The film also features a good score by South-African composer, Trevor Jones which is both powerful and dramatic and well suited to the film's tone and setting and it features a mix of orchestrations and electronic synthesizer aswell as the use of some guitar work.
FLAWS
Getting on to Mississippi's flaws, yeah there are a few.
And to start one of the main ones was in fact raised by many critics at the time as they said the film failed to tell the story from the point of view of the black local townsfolk and instead morely from the point of view of the two FBI agents and also Stuckey, Pell and the other Klan members. And this to an extent is a fair criticism as it does reduce the African Americans in the film to merely just spectators or victims all with the exception of the brave young boy, Aaron (played by Darius McCrary) who speaks up about the racial attacks by the Klan and encourages others to speak up as well.
Another point could also be to do with again in the depiction of Anderson and Ward appear to single handedly take down the Klan members involved in the murder by using any means necessary and it kind of reminded me of The Untouchables were just four guys with guns finally brought down Al Capone as it smacks of the Hollywood machine making it up as they go along again and again these two guys are above the law (or rather Anderson is).
The reality of the investigation was quite different and naturally the names of those involved in the murders were not disclosed for the purpose of the film due to legal reasons, the informant who gave the information regarding the location of the civil rights workers bodies was also never given, but it was depicted as being Pell's wife in the film. But again the film is only loosely based on the events surrounding the investigation so you can expect the film makers to take certain liberties with the truth.
And this brings me onto another flaw in the film involving Mrs Pell telling Anderson the whereabouts of the bodies and that her husband was involved. Now, she ultimately does the right thing here but the real question is just how stupid is her husband for confiding in her this information in the first place?! In reality there surely would be no way that Pell would have told his wife anything as sensitive as this and trust her with it but in the end it is what incriminates him. However, the film essentially uses Mrs Pell as a key plot device to move the story forward to help Ward and Anderson nail Pell and the others involved.
And last of all is the scene where Ward goes into a diner filled with a mix of white and black people all eating separately. So, Ward decides to go right up to one of the young black men sitting eating his lunch and he proceeds to ask him some questions but the young man refuses to talk and as a result, he is later abducted and beaten up and Anderson rightly after berates Ward for it. Now, my point is, why would Ward even do this in the first place?! Especially as he has been put in charge of the investigation and been through a similar case before, surely he would know this would be the last thing he should do! However, this instead seems to highlight Ward's inexperience and youthfulness next to Anderson's more experienced approach and perhaps this was deliberate on the film maker's behalf.
Anyway that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So to sum up, Mississippi Burning is still a very impressive and powerful drama that features some great performances from its cast, particularly Hackman, Defoe and McDormand, who are all on top form here and the film's taut direction, great cinemaphotography and powerful music score all compliment the film.
It is of course not without its problems and flaws and it was heavily criticised by several African American civil rights groups and even the families of the three murdered civil rights workers. However if you can overlook these issues, then Mississippi Burning is still an excellent film that is worth looking at 30 years on.
OK, so that's it for now and I will return hopefully with a couple more reviews before the end of the month and apologies for not getting more out these past fews months but I will try and rectify that as the year goes on.
So, till the next one its bye fer now!
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