A twisted love story set against the tapestry of rural Mississippi, Mud centers around a young boy, Ellis (Tye Sheridan, Tree of Life) who finds a man hidden out on an island. The man (played by Matthew McConaughey) identifies himself as Mud. We never hear Mud’s real name or any last name, but we do discover Mud is on the run, waiting for the love of his life, Juniper (played by Reese Witherspoon). Mud has a turbulent past, and with the arrival of his long-lost love comes inevitable trouble.
Despite McConaughey’s name (and pecs) being attached to the indie film and playing the title role, Sheridan takes on the heavier acting load, appearing in nearly every frame. Witherspoon, on the other hand, was in the film for a grand total of 12 minutes.
Ellis’ accomplice is his friend Neckbone (Jacob Lofland, making his acting debut) who almost steals the show. Perhaps I’m partial to his character because he’s a feisty 14-year-old who curses a lot and says things like “that helmet smells like my duckbutter” (Urban Dictionary will come in handy for some readers here. As I heard that line delivered, I realized very loudly that I was one of the few people in the theater who knew what duckbutter was… and found it adolescently hilarious.)
However, despite the plethora of adolescent humor, it is a story of love. No, not a romantic movie (of which both McConaughey and Witherspoon have proven perfectly adept) but a story about love. At its core Mud is a coming of age tale for both a young boy learning the tangled web of love and a lost man who needs to let it go.
At one point, Ellis falls in love (as far as a 14-year-old is concerned) with an older girl, who “breaks his heart.” This happens in the midst of Ellis’ parents getting a divorce. Therefore we are led to believe Ellis takes solace in Mud’s friendship. Not only does he trust Mud, but he sees how much Mud is in love with Juniper: renewing his faith in true love.
But is any of it as it seems?
I enjoyed how we see love through the eyes of an adolescent, while he witnesses the causes and effects of its power through Mud and his parents. The film falls short, however, not distinguishing between the 14-year-old notion of love and the adult’s reality of it.
Ellis is mad at the adults in his life for not living up to the idealistic notions of love he has in his head… and for some reason the adult characters feel a need to explain themselves, as though Ellis has any idea what the hell he’s actually saying. In fact, there seems to be little concept of age throughout the film at all. The characters seem on equal playing fields, which works for most of the story, until you find those glaring bits of dialogue where you just want to interject and say, “you’re too young to understand Ellis!”
Aside from these minor character development defects and a couple scenes that drag on, the film is entertaining and very well directed. Funny at times, thrilling at times, unpredictable at times. And as a sucker for one-liners, I enjoyed plenty of those. McConaughey delivers one of his better performances, while we see the stars on the rise of Sheridan and Lofland, as well as the film’s director and writer Jeff Nichols in only his third feature film (Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter).
Unfortunately, nothing was so outstanding as to leave a lasting mark. I don’t anticipate any major award nominations or stellar box office stats. The movie may eventually disappear into Netflix ambiguity, yet it will certainly prove a valuable launching pad for some bright future stars.
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