Finally! I saw
Mud. And loved it. From writer/director Jeff Nichols (
Take Shelter, Shotgun Stories) comes this textured drama that stars Matthew McConaughey as the title character. Here is the plot summary from the film's studio:
14 year-old Ellis (Tye Sheridan) lives on a makeshift houseboat on the banks of a river in Arkansas with his parents, Mary Lee (Sarah Paulson) and Senior (Ray McKinnon). He sneaks out early one morning to meet his best friend, Neckbone (Jacob Lofland). Neckbone, also 14, lives with his uncle, Galen (Michael Shannon), who makes a hardscrabble living diving for oysters. The two boys set out to an island on the Mississippi River, where Neckbone has discovered an unusual sight - a boat, suspended high in the trees, a remnant of an extreme flood some time in the past. They climb the tree and into the boat only to find fresh bread and fresh footprints. Realizing that they are not the only ones who have discovered the treehouse boat, they decide to leave. When they reach the shore, they find the same footprint in their boat. And that's when they meet Mud (Matthew McConaughey). Mud is a gritty, superstitious character; his clothes are dirty, his tooth is cracked, and he needs help. He tells the boys he will give them the treehouse boat, his current hideout, in exchange for food. Neckbone is reluctant, but Ellis brings food to Mud, and they develop a tentative friendship. Ellis learns that Mud has killed a man in Texas, and police and bounty hunters are looking for him, but Mud is more concerned about reuniting with his longtime love, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). Ellis, who has recently developed his own crush, agrees to help Mud escape with Juniper. Ellis and Neckbone carry out bold schemes in an effort to protect Mud and relay messages to Juniper, who is holed up in a fleabag motel, under constant surveillance by Carver (Paul Sparks), a Texas bounty hunter. Carver and his gang are intent on capturing Mud, on orders from the cold-blooded King (Joe Don Baker). As the boys risk everything to reunite these seeming mythical lovers, Ellis's own ideas about love and romance are challenged by the strains in the relationships closest to him: his parents' marriage is dissolving while he himself falters in his efforts to impress May Pearl (Bonnie Sturdivant). Through it all, Ellis struggles to look for an example of love that he can believe in, learning about the unspoken rules and risks of love and the reality of heartbreak.
I've been meaning to see this movie for several months now and finally caught up with it last night as its theatrical run nears the end. While I've heard plenty of sky-high praise for the film, I purposely never dug too deep into what the movie was about. I don't even recall seeing a trailer for it, which contributed to the film's mystery to me. After 2011's
Take Shelter blew me away a few years ago, I would pretty much go see anything that Jeff Nichols was a part of. And
Mud didn't disappoint. I found McConaughey's performance to be fantastic. He captured the subtleties of a fractured and confused man quite well, while still giving us the obligatory shirtless scene. In fact, his shirt plays an interesting role throughout the movie. McConaughey has been on a nice little run the past 24 months, with
Killer Joe,
The Paperboy, Bernie, Magic Mike and
Mud. Turns out, he is a pretty good actor. For years, he has been dumbing it down with romantic comedies and other crap, but what a difference a few years makes. It has been quite a resurgence.
Tye Sheridan is good-beyond-words as Ellis, the boy who helps Mud reunite with the love of his life. What struck me most about the two boys in the film were how honest their characters were. If an adult asked them a question, they told them the truth. Kids have a refreshing way about them in this regard, and Nichols nails it with his script.
Mud is about a teenager's attempt to discover the meaning of true love. Ellis' parents are divorcing, his girlfriend betrays him, his best friend's uncle is a womanizer yet he still wants desperately to believe that love is possible. I really enjoyed the varied layers of how the theme was driven home. Even though the story has a lot of fantasy elements, it struck me as a very realistic portrayal of how a 14-year old boy views the complex relationship between men and women. Ellis
needs to believe that love is real.
