Saturday, 1 February 2025

Movie Review: Mud (2012)


Genre: Coming Of Age Drama  
Director: Jeff Nichols  
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Sam Shepard, Reese Witherspoon, Michael Shannon, Ray McKinnon, Sarah Paulson, Joe Don Baker  
Running Time: 130 minutes  

Synopsis: In rural Arkansas, fourteen year-old friends Ellis and Neckbone (Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland) stumble upon Mud (Matthew McConaughey) on an isolated island in the Mississippi River. Ellis is intrigued by the stranger's story of a lifelong love for sweetheart Juniper (Reese Witherspoon), and starts bringing supplies to Mud and passing messages to Juniper. Ellis also experiences his first crush, get to know his mysterious neighbour Tom (Sam Shepard), and comes to terms with the painful separation of his parents (Ray McKinnon and Sarah Paulson). But Mud is a wanted fugitive, and his presence may unleash violence.

What Works Well: This coming-of-age drama combines lyricism with hard edges and tough truths. Director and writer Jeff Nichols finds a ramshackle section of river sustaining a simpler way of life, and populates it with characters harboring secrets. Within the stoic backwater isolation, Ellis' life is profoundly changing: his parents are splitting, the only home he knows might be dismantled, and he may have found a first girlfriend. But the revelations swirling around Mud are most potent, involving a deep love, easy lies, suspicions of murder generating a desire for violent revenge, and ultimately plans for an audacious escape. As the disruptions reach a climax, childhood is discarded and adulthood forged.

What Does Not Work As Well: Ten minutes could have been trimmed from the running length without dramatic loss, and Michael Shannon as Neckbone's river-diving uncle appears to be a character idea in search of a purpose.

Key Quote:
Mud (about Juniper): She is like a dream you don't want to wake up from.



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