Review:
Mud is an
engrossing coming-of-age story and strong character drama. The film is about
Ellis and Neckbone, two teenage friends who go out to a remote island along the
Mississippi River to claim an abandoned boat as their own. However, when they
find the boat, there is a drifter named Mud living in it. Mud tells them that he
is waiting for his truelove Juniper, but hiding from the law after killing a
man who hurt her. Taken by his plight, the boys decide to help Mud reconnect
with Junipter.
With Mud, writer-director Jeff Nichols seems very interested
in exploring the concept of love. At home, Ellis sees his parents’ relationship
coming to an end and he does not understand how that can be when they loved
each other (at some point in time). To him, love is a powerful agent – the
storybook definition in which it conquers all. The deterioration of his home
life shakes his confidence in love, which directly plays into why he is
stalwart in his desire to help Mud despite all the warning signs (like the fact
he is a murderer). He hears Mud’s story about being with his truelove Juniper
and it restores the myth for him – a myth that he seems very set on protecting.
He is very naïve. Ellis also engages in a relationship with a girl a few years
older than him (a high school girl when he is probably in the eighth grade). He
thinks that it is as easy as being nice to her and protecting her (because that
is what he got from Mud’s story), and in the moment she is taken with him. She likes
the attention, but for her there is nothing real between them. For Ellis,
though, he is committed and thinks they are in love. He is destined to be hurt
and jaded by the rejection (making him even more invested in seeing Mud and
Juniper reunited and living happily ever after).
Nichols also explores this theme
with the supporting characters that surround Ellis. He sees an upset woman
fleeing Neckbone’s uncle’s house yelling that a woman should be treated like a
princess. He also hears the story of his reclusive neighbor, a marine
sharpshooter who was deeply in love with a woman but she died in childbirth (as
did the child). He never loved again. Nichols uses all these stories to create
a specific psyche for Ellis – one that allows him to see Mud and Juniper as
storybook characters destined to be together, their love being pure with only
evil forces keeping them apart. In this mind state, Ellis feels like it is duty
to help them be together.
Ultimately, and obviously, Ellis going
to be let down and hurt by the people he believes in, because it is all
fantasy. In this way, Nichols is also telling a coming-of-age story. Ellis
needs to be hurt in order for him to grow up. His friend Neckbone is clearly
more skeptical and yet still goes along because he believes and looks up to his
friend. He does not have the heart to outright tell Ellis what a fool he is
being, rather he backs him up and supports him like a friend should. Mud is
also equally naïve, but not due to being inexperienced like Ellis. His naivety
stems much more from a place of self-deception. Like Ellis, Mud needs to be
hurt to finally come to terms with himself, grow up, and move on.
Nichols starts to transform his
main theme of storybook love into friendship. The film almost only shows broken
relationships, but the friendships between Ellis and Neckbone and the boys and
Mud are both very powerful. While it is unrequited love that helps them grow
up, it is friendship that builds them back up and gives them the strength to
move on. Nichols handles the material very deftly. It is touching without a
hint of cheesiness.
In addition to Nichols’s superb
command of the film’s narrative themes, he also develops the characters
fantastically and efficiently. The film has a lot of supporting characters, all
of whom are important to the plot and the main characters’ dramatic journeys. Thus,
Nichols must give them all enough character moments for the audience to build
connections to them. He does this magnificently. The story is told very
economically, each scene playing an important role in the overall film as the
drama builds. Nichols also paces the film well, which is an important and
difficult job when a film is character driven. The audience must stay engaged.
While the film works very well
overall (and is the best drama I have seen so far this year), the plot does take
the drama into an exaggerated place in the third act. Since Nichols manages the
audience’s connection with the characters so well, this is not really an issue
and the audience is fully invested and willing to go anywhere with these
characters. But that said, the third act does feel a little cliché in its drama
being ratcheted up. The character drama seems to suddenly change into a
thriller somewhat losing sight of the characters. The epilogue also feels very
Hollywood (a bit like a test audience demanded a happy unambiguous resolution
to the drama, so one was added – but by the same token, who does not like a
happy ending).
Despite some nitpicking issues
that really do not hurt the film much, Mud is a wonderful character drama, ripe
with great characters and strong direction.
Technical,
aesthetic & acting achievements: Jeff Nichols has made three films
now. Each telling stories about families trying to make it faced with hard and
changing times. His films feel very personal. He cares about his characters,
which comes across in his narratives and draws the audience in. Nichols is a
fine talent coming out of America’s independent cinema. He is a filmmaker to
watch. I recommend all is films (his first two are Shotgun Stories and Take
Shelter), and looks forward to his next.
Composer David Wingo’s score does a good
job reinforcing the dramatic tone. It is at times ominous while in other
moments it feels more enchanting, mirroring the drama and themes that Nichols
employs in the film. Adam Stone’s
photography is wonderful as well. He, along with production designer Richard Wright, gives the film a
very realistic look, yet with some foreboding as well (for example: the early shot
of the camera floating over the murky, foggy river – which certainly seems to
signify that some dark and dangerous is on the horizon). Wright’s design,
however, fully immerses the viewer in the realities of the hard lives the
characters lead, leaving the fantasy aspects to the cinematography and score.
The performances in the film are top-notch
across the cast. Paul Sparks
(is very menacing, which is sort of strange, as I am only familiar with him as
his sniveling character on Boardwalk
Empire), Michael Shannon,
and Sam Shepard are all very
good in small supporting roles. Despite their lack of screen time, they each
add something dramatically important to the narrative. Ray McKinnon and Sarah Paulson also have small
roles (in terms of screen time) as Ellis’s parents, but their dramatic moments
are key to the whole narrative working, as their relationship shapes Ellis’s
character and his motivations. They are both very good as well. Reese Witherspoon is a great
choice to play Juniper. It is easy to both imagine her as the innocent pinnacle
of Mud’s affection who loves him too and as a girl who is just using him. In different
moments, she makes the audience believe each is true. Jacob Lofland, playing Neckbone,
is fantastic. He is very resourceful and tough, and yet very vulnerable. Tye Sheridan, playing Ellis,
steals the film (even though most will look to Matthew McConaughey’s performance,
as he is the main name actor in the film). He has a true heart and is maybe the
only real hero (in the classic sense) left in his weary world. McConaughey is
also excellent in the film as Mud. He is wildcard. At any moment he might harm
his young companions, but he is so captivating as well. He just draws the
audience in, making them forget that he is dangerous and probably will hurt
these kids in the end.
Summary
& score: Mud is built on terrific characters and wholly engaging
drama. It pulls the viewer in and never lets them go until the last frame. 8/10
