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Along the banks of a muddy river in Arkansas lay a few
clusters of small, run-down houseboats. They are nothing to look at. They are
old and decaying. Their rotting wooden bones are rough, unpainted, and
unadorned. Everything is dirty. The folks these shacks shelter are just trying
to get on, living by the fish they can catch, and not too bothered by it
either.
At first it feels like “Mud” might be full of awfulness. It
starts with two 14-year-old boys—Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob
Lofland)—setting off on an old fishing boat in the dirty waters of a river in
rural Arkansas. There is an eerie sense of foreboding—we have no idea what they
are up to, or why they are up to it; but it feels like something might go
terribly wrong.
But then the tension settles. The movie starts to breathe
easier—it begins to feel more like a good ol’ Huck Finn-style river adventure. The
boys had just heard about an old fishing boat that somehow got stuck up in a
tree on some island in the river. So they are only investigating. No harm in
sight.
However, the mood re-intensifies when Ellis and Neckbone
come across a guy named ‘Mud’ (Matthew McConaughey). No one knows what Mud is
up to. He seems to be living on the island by himself, and he seems to be up to
something sort of fishy. Yet, Mud seems nice enough and maybe just in need of a
little help.
Neckbone is skeptical, but Ellis’ instinct is to help the
stranger. Indeed, Ellis’ instinct in general is to help people out, to believe
the best about them, and to expect that they will tell the truth and keep their
word. This is really Ellis’ defining characteristic. He trusts people.
Fortunately, Mud keeps Ellis’ trust, at least at first. In
fact, they start to develop a pretty fascinating friendship. Ellis brings Mud
food and helps him with some other stuff. In return, Mud offers sage advice
about life and love while also providing the boy with an adventure of sorts.
The trade may not always be fair, but both parties get on all right.
For a while, that is. As Ellis and Neckbone run around town
doing Mud’s bidding, they realize that Mud’s situation is a bit more
complicated than they had anticipated. It turns out not everyone thinks Mud is
the best. Not everyone is keen to help him out.
What the boys have to decide is whether to stick with Mud,
who is their buddy by now, or to turn their backs on him for their own ends. They
have to decide whether loyalty to this stranger who they only just met, and who
may end up being a bad and dangerous dude, is loyalty worth preserving. Maybe
part of growing up is figuring out who one ought to discard.
These issues are subtler than that, however; which is part
of what that makes “Mud” a really good movie. Ellis’ trusting nature might be
naïve and immature—something to grow out of. But it isn’t obvious. Sure, his
faith in Mud, his parents, and various other people gets Ellis into trouble. It
breaks his heart, too. But that doesn’t mean his faith is misplaced or unwise. Maybe
Ellis just shows us that it is best to help a stranger in need, even if it does
cost a lot.
“Mud” is also really good from a technical standpoint. I enjoyed—and
I still enjoy, as I think about it more—its pace, its mood, its feel. All the
dirt is warm and kind. It bespeaks a simplicity that supports, and in fact uplifts,
the film’s thematic material.
The acting is great as well. Even Matthew McConaughey—yes,
Matthew McConaughey—does a wonderful job. (It makes me think maybe he is a
talented actor who just picks really bad roles most of the time.)
I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I sat down to see
“Mud”. I am still not sure what I got into. But I know it was worth every
minute.
