Writer-director Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter) continues his clean record of outstanding cinema with another southern tale dense in its display of romantic ideals, youthful ignorance, emotional transference and the wisdom contained in broken adults. Glorification is a key theme, with Nichols applying a similar lens to Southern America with eye-fluttering, sun-scorched photography from regular DOP Adam Stone and a tender soundtrack smooched by Dirty Three and David Wingo.
For 14-year-old boys Ellis and Neckbone, the only thing more awesome than boobs is finding a boat wedged in a tree on a secluded island. But their dream treehouse is occupied by Mud (Matthew McConaughey), a mysterious hobo who spins anecdotes about warding off spirits, avoiding hitmen and running away with a girl named Juniper. Witnessing his parents on the cusp of divorce, Ellis feels compelled to help the elusive homeless man reunite with his “true love”.
Mud is much like the island he’s stuck on – elusive and whimsical but ultimately alone and unfulfilled – and McConaughey fantastically portrays that charismatic mysteriousness without diving into hyperbole. In doing so, he keeps the larger-than-life character grounded, allowing a subtle gaze and shift in sight to reveal hints of vulnerability. His performance would mean little were it not for young Tye Sheridan, who conveys Ellis’s inner complexities with astonishing confidence as he naively confides in Mud’s situation.
Though the narrative is a little too reliant on coincidences to keep it rolling, Mud earns its Mark Twain comparisons with its rich understanding of love through an early teenager’s eyes. Ellis’s crash course in romance is never blunter than when he tells his much older crush “I love you,” to which she replies “You’re 14.”
