MUD - An Epic Story

Well, my second cinema venture this week would take me to see Mud, a southern coming of age drama about two young boys who find a mysterious man on an island in Arkansas. The film is directed by Jeff Nichols, director of the acclaimed 2011 film Take Shelter. The film stars Matthew McConaughey in the title role as Mud, a mysterious fugitive, and Reese Witherspoon as Juniper, his former flame whom he attempts to reconcile with, whilst hiding from the police and a series of dangerous bounty hunters simultaneously. The young boys in the film are played by Tye Sheridan and newcomer Jacob Lofland. The supporting cast is filled out with Sarah Paulson, Michael Shannon and Ray McKinnon.

The film is set and was filmed in Arkansas, and is about the two impoverished boys experiences with a mysterious man, whom they meet on an island, whilst simultaneously having to deal with the breakdown of one of their parents marriage, and trying to reunite the fugitive, Mud, with his love Juniper. Thematically the film deals with hope and young love, destiny and the relationships that we have with our parents.

The film is well made, and beautifully shot, with many shots showing the natural beauty of the area in which it is set, and there are many shots of the sky and the clouds. which are simply breathtaking, and which could even be framed they are so beautiful. The film was cheaply made, and was filmed mainly on film and mainly with handheld cameras, and on film which I love, one can see on this blog that i have a self confessed loathing for all things handheld, yet in this film the handheld camera is well used and unpretentious, and I like the fact that it is used more out of necessity, shooting in tight spaces requires use of the handheld, and not to make the film 'arty' or pretentious, and the camera doesn't shake too much.

This film could be favorably compared to 'The Place Beyond The Pines'. I like the fact that this film has so much less attitude than 'Pines', the film has so much less ego in that it actually strives for much less, yet achieves more, it tells us so much more about father-son relationships, without the need to pretend that it is some epic tragedy, and it stands on its own terms, without the need to pretend that it is 'arty', which 'Pines' does. Pines ends up being simply pretentious, as it never achieves what it sets out to or what it thinks it does, yet what i like about Mud is that it sets no standard for the audience, and allows the film to stand on its own feet and allows the audience to make up their own mind as to what it is about, and the audience leaves feeling more fulfilled. The film is also much more well made, and doesn't need to resort to making it's leads ugly in order for us to empathize with them.

What i mean by this is that in 'Pines' really hot people are made to look ugly and unattractive. In Mud, Reese Witherspoon looks good, McConaughey looks hot, and their performances are allowed to shine without the need for ridiculous make up, as in ¨'Pines'. The performances in the film are good, and McConaughey shines as Mud, a mysterious man who is as perplexing to the audience as he is to the two leads, and with whom we want to believe despite our cynicism, and whom the leads become enamoured with. Reese Witherspoon is also great as Juniper, Mud's bruised lover, whom we like despite her flaws, and who uses her sexuality to manipulate people, especially Mud.

Now we come to the negatives, these are more personal that academic, as i feel that despite the film is very well made, and accurately achieves what it sets out to do, and does it well and is a very beautiful film. However the whole film is simply too 'Southern' for me, everyone has a southern accent, and in this respect it could be negatively compared to 'Million Dollar Baby' where southern accents are also used, but where they feel less artificial, and where not all of the characters have the exact same Arkansas accents. This is a personal flaw more than anything, and should not really influence others opinion of the film.

In short this is a very well made film, beautifully shot and superbly accurate and with an uplifting spirit, however it was not to my tastes, and feels a little too 'southern' for me, despite its strong performances. Rating: B+