After gaining the attention of Bangkok audiences last year with his mystery-drama Take Shelter, American indie-director Jeff Nichols is back with his third film, Mud, which after making its world premiere at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, has had critics waxing lyrical (it’s a remarkable 99% on RottenTomatoes.com)—and thankfully it’s with good reason.
In a riverside village in Mississippi, Arkansas, two 14-year-old boys Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), just like other adventurous kids their age, have staked out their own fantasy land on an isolated island near their homes. But their secret hideaway is disturbed when they come across Mud (Matthew McConaughey), a fugitive who has been hiding out on the island waiting for his girlfriend Juniper (Reese Witherspoon) so that they can flee the authorities together. Captivated by Mud’s dubious story of killing a man in Texas to protect the one he loves, the two boys overcome their initial fears and pledge to help him out with food and spare parts to get an abandoned boat up and running so he can make his escape.
Nichols’ thoughtfully written script is brought to life by a talented cast, headed by the resurgent McConaughey and ably supported by youngsters Sheridan (Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life) and Lofland. Such is the craftsmanship that, while we’re left with no doubts that Mud is a terribly dangerous person, it seems completely normal that the two boys should want to help him. The film brilliantly blurs the line between truth and lies, to the point where everything is dependent on trust.
Apart from the main storyline, the film also delves into the daily lives of the young boys. Ellis’s parents are getting divorced and he has just been betrayed by his first girlfriend. The appearance of Mud, and his complicated back-story, seemingly so far removed from the boys’ own reality, ends up teaching them valuable life lessons. While Mud might not be an all-action entertainment-fest, every piece of dialogue is seemingly imbued with deeper meaning. It beautifully portrays the message that there’s always a brighter side to our problems and how life, like an ever-changing river, must flow on.
