Mud Movie Review

Mud (2012)

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Written by: Jeff Nichols
Directed by: Jeff Nichols
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Sam Shepard, Reese Witherspoon, Ray McKinnon, Sarah Paulson, Michael Shannon, Paul Sparks
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
On a Mississippi River island, two young boys encounter a stranger who tells wild tales about bounty hunters and a beautiful woman.

Verdict
Two kids get caught up in helping this charismatic man, Mud, that's a jilted lover and on the run from the law. They're just naive enough to believe him, just as they'd believe any adult. It's the kind of adventure you wish you had as a kid while as an adult realizing how dangerous the situation could have been. The kids trust this guy despite all the reasons they shouldn't. Ellis's need to trust Mud increases as his home life deteriorates. He's looking for something in which he can believe. Mud's stories provide that.
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Review
This was Nichols's follow up to Take Shelter (2011), but he developed the concept while still in school, inspired by Tom Sawyer.

Two Arkansas boys find a boat in the woods, suspended in a tree from a recent rise in the river. They decide to claim it only to discover someone calling himself Mud (Matthew McConaughey) is living in the boat. Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) make a deal with Mud. If they help him out, he'll give them the boat. The boys can't pass up an adventure nor a boat. They provide Mud with food and information as cops are after him. He has to renegotiate with them when more cops than he anticipated are after him. He'll ride the boat into the ocean, and the boys will get his pistol instead.

Jacob Lofland, Tye Sheridan play Neckbone, Ellis

You have to wonder about Mud. He has these kids running errands for him, buying into his stories, but his father figure Tom (Sam Shepard) wants nothing to do with him. I'd guess Mud is always getting into and out of trouble. This time he may have taken it too far. The boys see a charismatic guy that's going to give them a boat. They keep bringing him supplies, eventually helping him plan an escape.

Ellis is doing this in part to help two lovers, Mud and Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). That resonates with him because his parents are divorcing. He wants to see a couple that works, where love can overcome anything. He wants to believe in that. When he meets Juniper, Ellis finds out she isn't in love with Mud. Their romance isn't the fairy tale he hoped it would be. Later when Ellis is snubbed by the girl he likes, it just shows him that all relationships are broken, you can't believe in them.

Matthew McConaughey plays Mud

With Mud about to escape, Ellis ends up mad at Mud for all of it: the broken relationships, the lies, and how he feels. Mud is easy to blame, and he understands. Though when Ellis needs help Mud risks his safety and freedom to provide aid.

This explores that line when you're a kid just on the edge of seeing the world and still trusting. Ellis and Neckbone don't realize what kind of trouble Mud can be. They haven't lived enough and seen trouble makers like that. Tom has seen and he knows. Ellis's trust in his parents is broken, and that causes him to question everything. His very foundation has cracked. Despite the reasons not to, he still trusts Mud and that guy comes through when he needs it.