Review: Mud

Lionsgate

Dewitt, a dry, dirty, small town in Arkansas. The deep American south. Lower class families living along the Mississippi river make a living by selling fish out of coolers from the back of old pickup trucks or sifting through junk on the bottom of the river hoping to find something of value. This is the setting for writer/director Jeff Nichols' 3rd film which follows two 14 year-old boys who help out with their family's business and in their spare time explore the great Mississippi River in a dingy old motorboat. On one such adventure they go to discover a boat stranded up in a tree on an island in hopes of making it their own but find a stranger has beaten them to it. He's got long matted hair, tanned, dirty skin with a snake tattoo winding its way down his right arm. He asks for their help in getting him some food, and when asked his name, he replies "Mud. You can call me Mud."

The tale of youths discovering a stranger on an island in the Mississippi should be familiar to most people who had to read Huckleberry Finn in high school. Nichols' was and is definitely influenced by the likes of Mark Twain and other American authors when he made this film. I'd say, with his first two films Shotgun Stories and Take Shelter, Nichols is establishing himself as the Cormac McCarthy of film. His quiet, focused style is honest and straightforward and with carefully controlled bursts of emotion and action. His settings in the Midwest and Southern areas of the U.S. evoke not only Twain but John Steinbeck and Walt Whitman. He recalls the heart of America and themes that such authors as these have written about over the past two hundred years.

For the two boys Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), Mud (Matthew McConaughey) comes to represent the mystery that each boy is grappling with at this stage in their life: what it means to be a man. With his tattoos, cigarettes, and heart-felt talk of the woman Juniper (Reese Witherspoon) he's waiting for, Mud conveys the romanticized version of what it means to be a man in America: tough to the point of violence but with a passionate side for an ideal lover. Especially for Ellis, Mud represents hope and an appealing character since his parents have become estranged and take out their anger and confusion on him. He is left stranded, needing a role model to help lead him into manhood.

Lionsgate

Ultimately, Mud is about confronting these romanticized notions still present in our American values. Ellis soon realizes that Mud lies to himself and others to preserve the image he has created for himself and his picture of Mud as a role model crumbles. Nichols' uses this and the iconic imagery of the sun-scorched south to evoke our American heritage to then pinpoint the problem with having such expectations of what it means to be a man. Marriage, relationships, love, and violence turn out to be much more complicated than Ellis or Neckbone expected. This isn't the fictionalized, romantic tale that Mud makes it out to be.

In this way, Mud instantly becomes a picturesque and endearing tale that is both classic and modern. McConaughey delivers a fantastic, subtle performance, and so does Tye Sheridan. The rest of the supporting cast including Michael Shannon, Sam Shepard, Sarah Paulson, and Ray McKinnon are all great as well. Although it may feel slow to some, I believe Nichols' handles the plot patiently to dwell on the subtle changes in character and the turmoil Ellis experiences. The ending is a bit idealistic, but I found it fit very nicely with the themes that emphasize the suspension between reality and fiction, the old and the modern. Mud probably isn't in many theaters anymore, so when it comes out on DVD, definitely make sure to see this one. Nichols' is a fast rising star in Hollywood, and Mud proves that his films just keep getting better and better.