Mud is a coming-of-age movie among the lines of Stand By Me. The film, which takes place on the shores of the Mississippi River in Arkansas, revolves around the growing pains of adolescent Ellis (Tye Sheridan), whose parents are going through a rough divorce. One day, Ellis and his friend Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) go on an adventure in their small boat to an island in the Mississipi, where they find an old, considerably bigger boat suspended by trees in the middle of a heavily wooded area. At first, the boat appears to be theirs for the taking, but they soon realize that it is inhabited by a rugged-looking homeless man who goes by the name of Mud (Matthew McConaughey), who they later discover to be a fugitive. The boys befriend Mud and help him in his attempts to repair both his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Juniper (Reese Witherspoon) as well as the suspended boat where he resides, so that he can make his escape with her.
I wasn't a huge fan of this movie. It is a great story, but it moves much too slow for me and could have been executed better. There are a lot of characters, which makes it difficult to follow along at times. Many of the characters are extremely flat (most notably Witherspoon's Juniper) and could have been explored much deeper. The only character in this movie (besides Mud himself) who has an even relatively interesting backstory is the old man who lives across the river from Ellis (Tom, played by the late Sam Shepard). The acting isn't terrible, but at times I felt like this was a movie I could have made with my little brother when we were younger, due to the less-experienced child actors (who the movie revolves around).
Cinematographically-speaking, this movie is interesting, but maybe not very memorable. I like the use of "muddy" colors (see what I did there?) to create a rustic-feeling setting. The underwater shots are artistic, while perhaps unnecessary, and provide a nice change in scenery. The panning shots of the boat suspended by trees are not as enticing as perhaps the director wanted. Some of the transitions between scenes are awkward (too many "quick-shots"), and many of the scenes are too short to be substantial. There are also times where a character has a monologue and then just stops speaking for several seconds while the camera keeps on rolling. I understand this is done for dramatic effect, or to let the words sink in, but it makes the movie drag.
Overall, Mud is not my kind of movie, not to say it is a bad movie per se. Perhaps having grown up in suburban Ohio, I cannot relate to the countless scenes in this movie where someone gets punched in the face. There's also a lot of cliché scenes that are almost laughable: the "high school party with red cups" scene, the "hazy bar with pool tables and bikers" scene, etc. I (and I imagine most men) can relate to some of the tougher situations in this movie that Ellis has to go through, especially dealing with heartbreak, but the movie doesn't even touch on his school life outside of the scenes depicting his romantic pursuit. I certainly come from a different world than him, I will admit that much. Witherspoon's depiction as the romantic interest of McConaughey's character is dull and, as much as I hate to say it, probably could have been played by anyone. The action scenes are the most exciting parts of this movie, although they are few and far between. McConaughey's performance is spot on, but nothing Academy Award worthy. I honestly would not want to watch this movie again if asked to, although it is a good coming-of-age tale about learning what love is and what it isn't; an important and resonant theme.
I wasn't a huge fan of this movie. It is a great story, but it moves much too slow for me and could have been executed better. There are a lot of characters, which makes it difficult to follow along at times. Many of the characters are extremely flat (most notably Witherspoon's Juniper) and could have been explored much deeper. The only character in this movie (besides Mud himself) who has an even relatively interesting backstory is the old man who lives across the river from Ellis (Tom, played by the late Sam Shepard). The acting isn't terrible, but at times I felt like this was a movie I could have made with my little brother when we were younger, due to the less-experienced child actors (who the movie revolves around).
Cinematographically-speaking, this movie is interesting, but maybe not very memorable. I like the use of "muddy" colors (see what I did there?) to create a rustic-feeling setting. The underwater shots are artistic, while perhaps unnecessary, and provide a nice change in scenery. The panning shots of the boat suspended by trees are not as enticing as perhaps the director wanted. Some of the transitions between scenes are awkward (too many "quick-shots"), and many of the scenes are too short to be substantial. There are also times where a character has a monologue and then just stops speaking for several seconds while the camera keeps on rolling. I understand this is done for dramatic effect, or to let the words sink in, but it makes the movie drag.
Overall, Mud is not my kind of movie, not to say it is a bad movie per se. Perhaps having grown up in suburban Ohio, I cannot relate to the countless scenes in this movie where someone gets punched in the face. There's also a lot of cliché scenes that are almost laughable: the "high school party with red cups" scene, the "hazy bar with pool tables and bikers" scene, etc. I (and I imagine most men) can relate to some of the tougher situations in this movie that Ellis has to go through, especially dealing with heartbreak, but the movie doesn't even touch on his school life outside of the scenes depicting his romantic pursuit. I certainly come from a different world than him, I will admit that much. Witherspoon's depiction as the romantic interest of McConaughey's character is dull and, as much as I hate to say it, probably could have been played by anyone. The action scenes are the most exciting parts of this movie, although they are few and far between. McConaughey's performance is spot on, but nothing Academy Award worthy. I honestly would not want to watch this movie again if asked to, although it is a good coming-of-age tale about learning what love is and what it isn't; an important and resonant theme.