Script Analysis: “Mudbound” — Part 4: Themes

Read the script for the critically acclaimed indie film and analyze it all this week.

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this bi-weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule:

Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Dialogue
Saturday: Takeaways

Today: Themes.

I have this theory about theme. In two parts. First, a principle: Theme = Meaning. What does the story mean? Second, while there is almost always a Central Theme, there are multiple other Sub-Themes at play in a story. Therefore the question, What does a story mean takes on several layers of meaning?

Time to ponder themes in Mudbound. You may download a PDF of the script — free and legal — here.

Screenplay by Virgil Williams and Dee Rees, novel by Hillary Jordan.

IMDb plot summary: Two men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.

Mudbound was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, 2 Golden Globes, and won the Robert Altman Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards.

The movie is available for screening on Netflix.

Major kudos to Mark Furney for doing this week’s scene-by-scene breakdown.

To download a PDF of the breakdown for Mudbound, go here.

For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown discussion, go here.

For Part 2, to read the Major Plot Points discussion, go here.

For Part 3, to read Characters discussion, go here.

Click RESPONSE and join the conversation.

To access 60+ analyses of previous movie scripts we have read and discussed at Go Into The Story, go here.

I hope to see you in the RESPONSE section about this week’s script: Mudbound.