Mud, a riveting feast of assured acting and meticulous direction, tells the story of the loss of innocence of 14-year-old Ellis (a very good Tye Sheridan) Living on a houseboat on the Mississippi River in dirt-poor Arkansas with bickering parents, Ellis is tough and level-headed. The film is an excellent study of his enthralling openness as he encounters diverse characters with the shared ability to allure him.
Chief among them is Mud (Matthew McConaughey), a fugitive Ellis and his pal Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) encounter after discovering a mysterious boat lodged up in a tree on a remote island. Mud speaks in short, pithy phrases and grabs the vulnerable boys’ attention. Neckbone never knew his parents and lives with his uncle Galen (Michael Shannon, fresh off his exceptional performance in director Jeff Nichols’ previous film, Take Shelter).
Mud gets the boys caught up in an initially innocent scheme that turns progressively darker. Ellis’ parents (Ray McKinnon and Sarah Paulson) seperate and the boys partially confide only in Mud’s loner, cautious friend (a terrific Sam Shepard), who may or may not be an ex-CIA hitman. An older teenage girl, Mae Pearl (Bonnie Sturdivant), who Ellis meets after punching an older boy who was bothering her, takes a brief shining to him. Her casual interest is matched by Ellis’ smitten intensity. Completing the trifecta of inspiring characters ready to let Ellis down is the mysterious Juniper (Reese Witherspoon), who is Mud’s off-and-on girlfriend and full-time obsession. (Much will be made of Reese going for an atypical bad girl role. Hey, she was arrested on a disorderly conduct and DUI charge this week. Synchronicity or publicity stunt?)
McConaughey continues his impressive roll of top-notch performance beginning with Lincoln Lawyer and extending in progressively sharper and sharper performances through Bernie, Magic Mike, and the wild and wooly Killed Joe. His penchant for edgy characters continues. As Mud, his role requires projecting a delicate balance of likability and menace. Although Ellis is emotionally primed to be victimized by his wishes for a potentially romantic outcome between Mud and Juniper, he’s no fool. Nor is Neckbone. The subtlety with which Mud engages them is a sight to behold.
Viewers hungry for a great film may decide to overlook the film’s preposterous finale. The effective openendedness of Take Shelter’s climax is replaced here by an arbitrary whopper that it should be assumed was designed to avoid a lack of closure. In so doing Arkansas native Nichols almost sinks the film in the river. The rest of the film is so astute and fresh, though, that this gaffe is almost a mere mosquito bite of a digression. Although a terrific meal with a lousy dessert is still a terrific meal with a lousy dessert.