Director Dee Rees has long been considered an exceptional directorial talent and now it appears that she has created a film which will give her the Oscar buzz she deserves. Mudbound, which is based on Hillary Jordan’s 2008 debut novel of the same name, is a World War II era story of two Mississippi families—one Black, one white—who are forced to confront the realities of prejudice, farming, and family in a racially divided America.

Rees says of the film:

It exposes race as an economic construct and exposes the fact that we’re all interconnected not just to each other but to our history… There is no ‘then’ or ‘will be,’ there’s only now. Everything is now. We can’t dismiss our history and say we are a product of our times. We are the times and we decide what kind of nation we are going to be.

Additionally, since the film is on Netflix and is skipping the traditional box office route, it has also ignited more conversations about if Mudbound will finally deliver the streaming giant its first win at the Oscars, and if the film festival circuit and audience reactions are of any indication, Mudbound has more than a puncher’s chance at a win.

Mary J. Blige and Jason Mitchell are two of the anchors of the film, with Blige receiving a breakthrough performance award from Indiewire for her portrayal of Florence Jackson, the mother of Jason Mitchell’s character Ronsel. Mitchell is similarly receiving early Best Supporting Actor buzz due to his strong performance while carrying the emotional weight of this film similar to the way Viola Davis carried the emotional weight of Fences.

Mudbound premiers on Netflix and is scheduled for a limited release in movie theaters on November 17th.

Here is the trailer for the movie. It looks like the buzz is well-warranted.