kitellis-98121
An Amazon reviewer commented that this film has an essence of "Stand By Me" about it, and that was all it took to convince me to give it a try - without even reading any more of their review.They weren't wrong. Almost the first shot of the film features a boy who closely resembles River Phoenix in "Stand By Me", including the same haircut and similar white t-shirt. And the mood and flavour of the film continues to be similar throughout, with additional overtones of "The Client", "The Cure", and even elements of Stephen King's "IT" (the original, not the remake). Because, of course, this is just one in a long and distinguished line of coming-of-age dramas, mostly featuring boys aged between 11 and 14, mostly in bucolic rural settings, and mostly unsupervised, that can trace their origins back to Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. It is a genre that is nearly always richly evocative, and speaks to a nostalgic place, particularly to be found in the male soul, that yearns for the freedom and adventure of ones' youth - either fondly remembered, or wishfully imagined.These specific stories, which are quintessentially American, have their cousins in every other culture around the world - wherever young boys live and play and explore the world around them in search of adventure and independence. As a Brit, my version of "Huckleberry Finn" was "Swallows and Amazons" which reflected my own culture's youthful adventures of a bygone age, and remains powerfully resonant and evocative to me even in middle age. I was lucky enough to actually have a childhood like that, so I can enjoy real memories as well as imagination.But I also grew up with the American mythology too, and when "Stand By Me" first hit the screens, it touched that special place in the centre of my soul that will forever be a 12 year-old boy. I'm particularly susceptible to such stories.Mud is one such story, and it is beautifully realised. The screenplay is honest, raw, and unflinching. It is also pleasingly male-centric, with not a single trace of post-feminist political correctness. Every featured female character is a representation of the various ways that women can hurt and abuse men, and every featured male character has been hurt or abused by a female in one way or another. Now, although this may not seem realistic or fair, it is purely because the film is entirely presented from a male perspective - which is both refreshing and deeply satisfying if, like me, you are a male who has grown up in a world where anyone who owns a penis is automatically fair game.Personally, I've had enough of watching "empowered" women "heroically" kicking men's asses in movies. And I've had enough of watching men always being the abuser. In this film, the women are all abusive in one way or another, but they are also depicted realistically and with more even-handedness than male characters would have been if their roles had been reversed. The dialogue is also intelligently written, and the two central characters - boys in their early teens - are written and depicted honestly and with great respect. There is no dumbing-down here.The cinematography is attractive and straightforward, perfectly capturing the beauty of the great outdoors without falling into any of the usual clichés. There are no smoke-filled woods with sun rays piercing through. There are no arty close-ups of barbed wire with out-of-focus red barns in the background. There are no shots of people silhouetted against the sunset. (At least, if there were, I wasn't distracted by them).Similarly, the music doesn't draw attention to itself, the editing is equally unobtrusive, and the director wisely keeps his actors from chewing-up any scenery. In short, it is good straightforward storytelling, rather than "art". And much as I enjoy "art", with a movie of this nature the story must come first.And finally, with regard to the cast, I can only say that they all did a great job. The supporting cast, most of whom bring a lot of Hollywood "baggage" with them, are sensibly kept in the background, with the exception of McConaughey who turns in a solid (and possibly quite smelly) performance.But the absolute stars of this film are the two boys, both of whom would be equally good in any of the coming-of-age movies that have ever been made. Their acting is natural, confident, nuanced, and filled with - my favourite word - verisimilitude. And the central performance from Tye Sheridan is nothing short of breath-taking. As I was watching, I was thinking "this kid is going to be a huge star". I had never heard of him before. But having since looked him up, I can see that he's already well on the way to my prediction, with an impressive body of work under his belt. I was reminded of both River Phoenix in "Stand By Me" and Brad Renfro in "The Client". And that is a little bit unsettling, based on how both of their young lives were tragically ended. So I hope that Tye Sheridan achieves the success that he so totally deserves, but without falling into the same traps.Overall, "Mud" is a strong addition to a favourite genre of mine. Not the best (hence not 10 stars) but a thoroughly well-made film.
Raj Doctor
I saw a beautiful movie MUD (2012)The movie was written and directed by Jeff Nichols. He was inspired by his own heartbreak in LOVE while growing up and he trying to find out the meaning of true LOVE. The pivot of the movie was inspired from Tom Sawyer stories and the setting is on the Southern landscape of Arkansas around Mississippi river. The story is about Two boys around 14 years Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofiand) go to an island to retrieve a boat stuck on a tree, but find a guy named MUD (Mathew McConaughey) living there. They come to know that Mud is a fugitive who needs help to meet his girl-friend Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). Ellis agrees to help Mud because Ellis loves a senior girl Mary Lee (Sarah Paulson). In the process, as the story unfolds Ellis suspects Mud and also Juniper on their commitment for LOVE and is disillusioned by LOVE due to Mary Lee's shallowness of understanding LOVE. A group of men are on a lookout for Mud to seek revenge and what happens to Mud, Juniper and whether Ellis understands the meaning of true LOVE forms the remainder of the story.The writing of the movie and execution is excellent. Tye Sheridon as Ellis is brilliant, Mathew and Reese as lovers (though they do not have a single shot together) are good. So are all the other cast.The movie show Arkansas and small town around Mississippi river beautifully and transports the viewers in midst of the location setting. The screenplay too keeps one guessing with its twist and turns. Many consider the movie slow, but I think it is nicely paced. Even after limited release in USA and made on a small budget (filmed in 8 weeks with a crew of 100 people) the movie did good business worldwide. The movie is successful in going into the mind and psychological frame of mind of Ellis as a 14 year old growing adolescent encountering first LOVE and his coming to age journey. I was pleasantly surprised seeing the movie. I would go with 7.25 out of 10
The Couchpotatoes
The least we can say is that director Jeff Nichols did a very good job with Mud. Even though it's longer then two hours it's a very enjoyable drama to watch. One where you won't get bored for a second. The cast is outstanding. Matthew McConaughey is the main character because the movie is called after him, and he did an excellent job with his character, but what I will remember the most is the excellent acting from the two youngsters Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland. Their innocent characters, ready to believe anything Mud tells them, and helping him getting his love life sorted out, makes Mud a drama that you watch with full attention. The rest of the cast fits perfectly well in the story. A story well written that deserved to be watched at least once. Looking forward to watch more movies from Jeff Nichols.
