New Film ‘Mississippi Damned’ Explores Impact Of Poverty

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New Film ‘Mississippi Damned’ Explores Impact Of Poverty

Posted at 10/23/2009 by Staff 1 Comment

mississippi damned According to Reuters:

Most movies set in Mississippi, it seems, are related to the civil rights movement. This raw and powerful film focuses on the desperate downward spiral of a rural black town in the mid-’80s. The winner of the Gold Hugo for best film at the Chicago International Film Festival, “Mississippi Damned” is an unsparing look into self-destructive patterns and malaise. Alcoholism, welfare dependency, teen pregnancy, unemployment and spousal abuse all roil in this film. Plaudits to filmmaker Tina Mabry for her tightly wound and powerfully explosive story.
With no sugarcoating or soapboxing, filmmaker Mabry has distilled a wide-ranging snapshot of the hardships and turmoil that do not come to life in dry sociology papers or political oratory about black poverty in the United States.
While specific to Mississippi rural blacks, the challenges and self-perpetuating dysfunctional behavior could be transposed to other poverty-bound groups.
Mabry’s tightly crafted script reveals and unravels the lives of many characters but never resorts to sentimentality or easy outcomes. It’s an incendiary story, told with a firm heart and a supple hand.
“Mississippi Damned” has mesmerizing ensemble performances that spring to life through its talented performers. Jossie Harris Thacker is heart-wrenching as an alcoholic woman, while Malcolm David Kelley is compelling as a local basketball star who soars to the NBA only to fall back deeper into the sinkhole of his youth.
Kylee Russell is charismatic as a talented musician who dreams of bigger things, while Chasity Hammitte is sympathetic as a teen who is mercilessly put down because of her homosexuality.
The technical contributions in this tightly forged film are exemplary. In particular, Ryan Adison Amen’s score wails with juke-joint flavor, conveying the tumult and desperation of this down-spiraling town. Similarly, cinematographer Bradford Young’s unblinking compositions bring sharp focus to this calamitous community.