Mississippi Burning (86%)

1964. When America was at war with itself.

Mississippi Burning is a great film. It deals with issues of race and murder and is Alan Parker's best film since Pink Floyd: The Wall.  After two films, Birdy and Angel Heart, Parker has made a return as the great filmmaker that he was destined to be after his first few features.

The story of Mississippi Burning is based on (slightly) true events. The characters aren't real but the film plays like a true story. Set in 1964, the film begins with the murder of three people (two white and one black) in the backwoods of Mississippi. This brings in the FBI who discover a sinister plot of racism and deception from what seems like all sides of the town. The KKK feature prominently throughout the film.

The film stars a young Willem Dafoe, an even younger Frances McDormand, Gene Hackman and the great Brad Dourif. Like almost all of Parker's films, Mississippi Burning contains stellar acting from everyone involved. Dafoe is great as an innocent yet tough FBI agent; Hackman is even better as his partner. McDormand is just as good and shows a lot of the appeal that would eventually win her that Oscar many years later. In a small but memorable role, a young Kevin Dunn (Shia LeBeouf's father in Transformers) appears and seems to have not aged a day since this movie was made.

There are plenty of chases and explosions and violent images in this film. Parker handles them all with care and never lets the realism fade away. In the hands of a lesser director things could of turned offensive or schmaltzy but Parker brings just the right amount of emotion and action to make the audience enthralled and appalled yet unable to look away.

The cinematography, sets and costumes help bring the audience into the bitter and shocking world of 1964 Mississippi. The camera angles are simple in their execution but the lighting is stellar and the two together help create a mood that is dark, thrilling and moody. The night is dark and mysterious and the flames from the fires throughout the film sparkle in their orange intensity. The sets and locales all look like 1964 and the make up and costumes suit the era too, minus a funeral scene near the end where some of the extras seem to be a bit to modern for their time.

One of my favorite Composers, Trevor Jones, supplies the absolutely riveting soundtrack to the film. The music is moody and tense and really enwraps the viewer into the events that are unfolding on screen. With a stellar repetitive theme, Mississippi Burning is a soundtrack that would sound just as good playing on my iPod as it does in the film and is a soundtrack I'd love to purchase and add to my collection.

The tight script is held together well by the almost as tight editing. Like most Parker films there isn't a wasted moment, or wasted shot spliced into the film. Every scene plays with one another and works together to create a movie that works from the opening frame to the final frame. While the story is maybe not the most original (KKK, racism, good FBI vs. everybody else), the film is done so well that it ends up feeling original and unique.

It's nice to see Parker step up his game to something close to the beginnings of his career. It's not that Birdy or Angel Heart were bad, it's just that they weren't as good as what Parker gave us before. Mississippi Burning returns him to that former glory. While not as good as his first few films it sure does come close. Having watched seven Parker films I am amazed and astounded by how different each film is, and like his previous six films, Mississippi Burning is unlike any of his previous films and is all the better for it. In a word: Remarkable!!

Film Rating: 86%

Breakdown (How Mississippi Burning scored 86%):

Production Design: 8 out of 10
Cinematography: 8 out of 10
Re-playability: 8 out of 10
Originality: 8 out of 10
Costumes:  8 out of 10
Directing: 9 out of 10
Editing: 9 out of 10
Acting: 9 out of 10
Music: 10 out of 10

Script: 9 out of 10