If you're like me, you greet the phrase "coming of age story" with something between a polite nod and an gaping, open mouthed yawn. While "Mud" falls into that category, it's easily one of the best, if not the best, in its class. This is because nothing about it is predictable; there's no sappy cliché message, and although it's mostly tame regarding violence, some parts are extremely tense, menacing and disturbing. Ultimately, yes, it's a coming of age story, but it's a slightly dark version which is aimed more at adults than kids.
The plot in a sentence: Two 14-year-old boys discover a mysterious loner living on an island on the Mississippi River, and as secrets unravel they realize they've gotten into something much deeper than they had bargained for.
Although our protagonist is a 14-year-old boy "Ellis" (excellently, and I mean EXCELLENTLY, played by Tye Sheridan), this isn't just a 14-year-old's story. In the DVD interviews, director/writer Jeff Nichols said he chose a young teen as the protagonist because he felt that our early teens are when we feel emotions the strongest. Everything is amplified, and later in life we rarely feel that surge the same. And so, through the eyes of Ellis, we see a story unfold in a grippingly powerful way.
Themes touch on loyalty, responsibility & fighting for what you believe in. But the central theme is love in its many definitions. We learn that our mysterious stranger (Matthew McConoughy) is driven solely and obsessively by thought of his lost love, and in a parallel fashion, Ellis is falling in love with his first crush. In both cases, he sees love as a storybook ideal. What he gets may not be what he had imagined, and this creates a powerful, driving conflict in the story.
There is action, suspense, artistry and some beautifully shot, poetic moments brought to life through the camera as well as McConoughy's fantastic performance. Even more so, the setting of rural Arkansas along the Mississippi is something you can't miss. In almost a Werner Herzog type vein ("Aguirre the Wrath of God", "Fitzcarraldo") where the ominous natural setting becomes a silent character in the film, director Nichols really knew how to immerse us in an all-encompassing, dense alternate reality, set apart from the real world as if time were frozen since the days of Huck Finn. That alone is worth the price of admission. Definitely if you're a fan of Herzog you must see this film.
Other directors and films I'd compare this to include Wim Wenders ("Until the End of the World" with its vast Australian desolation), Lasse Hallström ("Safe Haven" set in Southport, NC or even "Chocolat" set in a timeless French village on a river) and of course the Rob Reiner masterpiece "Stand By Me". If you liked any of those flicks, you won't be disappointed here.
