Burden (2018)
A reverend (Forest Whitaker) tries to keep racial tensions from escalating when a Klu Klux Klan museum is opened in his South Carolina town in this Sundance Audience Award-winning true story drama.
"Mike Burden (Garrett Hedlund, Mudbound) is a taciturn repo man rising through the ranks of the Ku Klux Klan in small-town South Carolina, 1996. Orphaned as a child, he is fiercely loyal to local Klan leader and toxic father figure Tom Griffin (Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton). But Burden has a change of heart when he falls for Judy (Andrea Riseborough, Birdman), a single mother who stirs his social conscience. His violent break from the Klan sends him into the open arms of Reverend Kennedy (Whitaker), an idealistic African American preacher, who offers him safety and a shot at redemption." (Sundance Film Festival)
Less2018Rating: R16, Violence, cruelty, offensive language & content that may disturb117 minsUSA
Drama
- Director:
- Andrew Heckler (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Andrew Heckler
- Cast:
- Andrea RiseboroughGarrett HedlundForest WhitakerTom WilkinsonCrystal FoxTess HarperUsher RaymondAustin Hébert
Burden (2018) | Awards
Winner of the Audience Award, 2018 Sundance Film Festival
Burden (2018) | Reviews
RogerEbert.com
The sense that a lot of these characters have been reduced to their narrative purpose destroys the world that Burden needed to create to work.
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Rolling Stone
A compelling true story about the redemption of a Klansman (a very fine Garrett Hedlund) is well-intentioned but dramatically wobbly and simplistic.
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Los Angeles Times
Siding with the angels can seem like a snap in films, but "Burden" has the grace to show how difficult and wrenching a choice that can be.
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The New York Times
Though the themes of "Burden" feel uncomfortably current, their execution is leaden and dismayingly artless.
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Variety
Hedlund leans so heavily on Mike's bobbing physicality that the audience nearly gets seasick. Still, it's an unselfish performance from a strong young actor who's been devoting his career to tough parts that don't ask for applause.
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Hollywood Reporter
The writer-director's inexperience behind the camera is all too evident, as the painful but ultimately cathartic tale bumps along for more than two hours without ever finding an aesthetic form.
Full reviewBurden (2018) | Release Details
Burden (2018) is available to stream in New Zealand now on Google Play and Apple TV and Neon Rentals.