Film Review: Mud

Director: Jeff Nichols

A 2012 coming of age drama set in a small city called De Witt in Arkansas. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival but lost out to Amour by Michael Haneke and then was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in early 2013. Apparently writer/director Jeff Nichols always had McConaughey in mind for the role after watching Lone Star and was inspired as a youngster by the Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. 

Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) and Ellis (Tye Sheridan)

Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) and Ellis (Tye Sheridan) are two 14 year old boys who find a boat stuck in a tree on a small island in the Mississippi River. They want to claim for themselves but realise that somebody has been living in it and find Mud (Matthew McConaughey) who has been sleeping in it. They slowly learn that Mud is actually a fugitive wanted by the local police department and so the boys begin to help him by bringing food to help him survive.

Both the young actors, Tye Sheridan especially, but in impressive performances as the boys are suddenly thrust into an adult world full of women, murder and divorces. They have to adapt to their surrounding quickly and become wise beyond their years. Considering their relative inexperience, only Sheridan has a former acting credit in Terrence Malicks The Tree of Life, they share the anguish and joy of their formative years with us very well.

Mud (Matthew McConaughey)

The scenes with McConaughey on the island have an escapist feel to them, like they are in another world that is safe from the city and its troubles. A place where they can leave their problems behind for the time that they are there before they go back to face the world. Whilst the rest of the film really drives home what it means to be a teenage boy in a family that is falling apart despite the best efforts of the people involved.

4/4 Strong performances in this engrossing young drama