Mud (A+)

Always believable while tackling major issues, riveting without being showy, and deeply moving without being dull to watch, Mud is one of those rare films that is truly great.

Ellis

Ellis is a boy living in the swampy, bayou-y part of Arkansas that most people call the Louisiana Bayou (though technically, he isn’t in Louisiana). He lives with his parents alongside a river in a rural area. The movie doesn’t pound in the ideas of poverty, but it is clear that he is living a very low-class life. His father is a fisherman, but with his parents planning a divorce his father will have to lose his dock because it is owned by his mother. Chances are Ellis will end up moving to a more urban environment. This might actually be a better change for Ellis in the long-term, but it also means everything about his life is going to be upended in a way no one is happy about.
While all this is happening, Ellis and his friend slip away to visit one of the many small, deserted islands that surround his home. There they find Mud. Mud is a fugitive from both the police and a group of vicious gangsters. Mud is resourceful and charismatic, but it is clear that not everything is there. Not that he is dumb (in fact, he is quite the opposite) or delusional: But he is certainly missing something mentally. However, beneath his vaguely menacing--and rivetting--outside is a dreamer, a man who despite having done so much to screw up his own life and having a future that looks anything but bright still clings on to various superstitions, old wives tales, and stories that he has told himself so many times he believes are true.

Tye Sheridan, the young star of The Tree of Life, plays Ellis. Ellis isn’t as showy a role as that of Mud, but with the help of flawless editing Sheridan carries the movie by being able to show a number of feelings without saying a word. The supporting cast is all good as well: Jacob Lofland and Bonnie Sturdivant make great debuts as Ellis’s friends, Michael Shannon shines in a small role as Ellis's friend's foster father, and Sam Shepard is riveting as Ellis’s tough-as-nails veteran neighbor. Ray McKinnon is particularly good as Ellis’s flawed but loving father. Even Reese Witherspoon manages not to mess up her sizable role as a childhood friend and sometime lover of Mud.
Of course, the main attraction here is Mud, and the movie lives or dies on that performance. Fortunately, the role went to Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey knows not to try and ham up the performance too much, but his charisma is still always there in every scene. It is probably his best performance yet, which is saying alot considering that mixed in with his work in not-very-good romantic comedies are some pretty great performances in some pretty great films.

All of the acting would be wasted if it weren’t for the story, and fortunately writer/director Jeff Nichols is a master storyteller. Nichols, who previously made Shotgun Stories and Take Shelter, has long showed up on lists of directors to watch, and here he really shows his potential. With his unobtrusive camera work and flawless editing, Nichols makes sure to have a slow, deliberate pace that leaves ample opportunity to show every side to Ellis and Mud and their various relationships. All the time, though, there is a very clear sense that there is a point to this story and not once is the movie dull. The story is always entertaining and climaxes in a pulse-pounding shootout, but it never drifts into action/thriller territory: Everything feels oh-so-real. At no time does Nichols try and bring the story into surreal territory: There is not going to be a magical solution for Ellis’s problems and it is clear that Mud is often living a fantasy. However, Nichols does tackle such big issues as faith and hope while coming up with a satisfying ending.
In the end, it is a tale about optimism. Ellis and Mud’s futures are as muddy as the waters they live in and many of their hopes are clearly unrealistic; however, this doesn’t mean they have to (or should) stop living a life where numerous possibilities and wonders--and possibly even some sort of higher power watching over everything--are still always there.
This film is always genuine and never showy but is also deeply powerful.