A slow-building, completely charming indie about two boys in the waaaay rural South (think Mississippi Delta) who travel out to an island and discover a fugitive (Matthew McConaughey, continuing his career resurgence) who needs their help. One of the boys is having some personal problems (his parents are getting divorced…his “girlfriend” barely acknowledges him when other people are around) and is drawn to the romanticism of Mud, who’s on the run for crimes he committed for the love of his life (Reese Witherspoon).
What Works: This movie feels literary in both theme and scope. It’s mostly quiet and introspective, but has a current of idealism running through it as the lead boy idolizes a wanted killer who refuses to give up on love…even as all the other people in his life disappoint him. Somewhere, Mark Twain is smiling, and if this were a book it would probably be a contemporary classic. Writer and director Jeff Nichols (quickly becoming a Southern favorite after making the equally good “Take Shelter”) has said that he wanted to recapture the “excitement and torture” of having crushes on girls when you’re 14. And I’d say he does. Plus, how on fire is Matthew McConaughey these days? This is a guy I thought would never be truly great in anything only a few years ago, and now has been excellent in Bernie, Killer Joe, Magic Mike, this film, and rumored-to-be-terrific in the upcoming Dallas Buyer’s Club). It’s enough to make you even more excited for his starring role in the upcoming Christopher Nolan film, Interstellar.
What Doesn’t Work: The lead character’s parents are played by Ray McKinnon and Sarah Paulson, two interesting actors that couldn’t look less compatible if they were different species. Their marriage’s dissolution is never fully explained, but we should have seen at least one scene that maybe gave us a hint of how they got together in the first place. I also wish the great Michael Shannon’s role (as a hilarious uncle) were more developed. And Reese Witherspoon is miscast as Mud’s bad-news girlfriend. The character is supposed to be a lost party girl stumbling from one bad situation to the next, but Reese is too cautious and guarded an actress to properly sell that.
What I Would Have Done Differently: The movie could probably be about 10 minutes shorter, some roles could have been cast differently, and some interesting minor characters (particularly Michael Shannon’s uncle and Joe Don Baker’s Southern-fried crime boss) should have been fleshed out more. All in all though, a really worthwhile indie to seek out.