Mud

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Mud.

Written & Directed by Jeff Nichols.

Review #212

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some violence, sexual references, language, thematic elements and smoking.

Run Time: 130 min

Cast

Matthew McConaughey ...Mud

Reese Witherspoon ...Juniper

Tye Sheridan ...Ellis

Jacob Lofland ...Neckbone

Sarah Paulson ...Mary Lee

Ray McKinnon ...Senior

Sam Shepard ...Tom Blankenship

Michael Shannon ...Galen

Every once in a while. You go to a movie and expectations are high due to word of mouth or a great trailer or critic acclaim. This was the case with me and this movie. I had seen the trailer for this one and I was very intrigued. Then it was suggested to me by one of my fans that I should definitely see this movie. I trust this fan's opinion so I made it a necessity to check it out.

Was it great? Not even close. Was it good? Yes. Am I glad I saw it? Absolutely!

Plot

Two teenage boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the bounty hunters on his trail and to reunite him with his true love. 

The first thing that caught my attention about this film was the attention and hype surrounding Matthew McConaughey's performance. It was billed as his best performance ever and the trailers were promoting it as a career defining role. I'm very happy to say that Mud does have that career defining performance. It just wasn't McConaughey's.

Not by a long shot.

He may have been the name to attach to the project and he does turn in a terrific performance as the titular character. However, the real star of this show is Tye Sheridan. This kid doesn't steal the movie. He takes complete ownership of it. In the interest of full disclosure. It must be pointed out that although Mud is the title and McConaughey is playing the character. The actual lead is Sheridan as Ellis. The film revolves around him and his experiences with Mud, his family, best friend and puberty.

I was trying to remember where I had seen Sheridan before and then it hit me. He played one of the sons in Terrence Malick's abomination The Tree of Life. His filmography only consists of two other films (including Mud) but his agent should be expecting some calls because He was AMAZING in this film. The film is set in a small Arkansas town and Ellis lives on the river so as he puts it, he's not a town kid. You can feel the country bumpkin in him but he's not stupid. Sheridan portrays Ellis with the right amount of attitude, passion and naivety that any teenager his age would have. It comes across perfectly which plays a significant role in the growth and maturity of his character as the film progresses.

The rest of the film is full of fine performances but Sheridan stands out as he should.

Simply brilliant.

You'd think a film with such a remarkable performance from a young talent, matched up with a Hollywood heavyweight who equally does a great job would be a thrill to watch right?

WRONG!

Mud is a flawed film. And it's those flaws that prevent it from being good to great. The first flaw being the run time. At 2 hours and 10 minutes, Mud is too long. It drags at a snails pace between acts 2 and 3. I get what Nichols was trying to do but the pacing was way off and too much lag really sets the movie back. You could easily have trimmed this down by 20-30 minutes and the film would have been tighter while maintaining the strength of the narrative.

This segues nicely to the next hiccup.

Mud carries a very powerful message and it's that message that makes this film a treat. The problem is Nichols tends to beat you over the head with what the film is about. There are several scenes from different characters point of view that expose the film's underlying thought. Similar to the run time, there were too many of these instances. It wasn't necessary in my opinion to go overboard with the different points of view. Again I understand and applaud Nichols attempt but I felt that some restraint was needed here. This is common when a director writes and edits their film. They tend to have separation anxiety. They can't bare the thought of losing a scene or two for the sake of the rest of the film.

That isn't the case here. He had an editor for this film. Her name is Julie Monroe and I think she should have stepped in and suggested cutting the film down. It's tough to tell because some film makers never relinquish their power in the edit room and some collaborate nicely. I have had experienced both sides and it's not easy to voice your opinion when the creator is not interested in compromise. I've also worked with people who not only valued my opinions but preferred them and trusted in the fact that I knew what I was doing. The surprising thing about this topic is that Nichols wrote and directed a film called Take Shelter which is a must see if you haven't. That film is 10 minutes shorter than Mud and doesn't nearly have the pacing problems.

The last thing I didn't like about the film was the ending. The last scene in particular. I can't say what it is but if you see this film and felt the same way I did watching it then you will agree with me. I went to see this movie with one of my closest friends and she and I both felt where the logical place for the film to end was. What was funny about our conversation was we both had different opinions about the meaning of that scene. She saw it one way and I saw it another. The best part about it was that neither of us were right or wrong.

That boys and girls is what Mud does to you. Despite it's dragging pace and overcomplicated subplots, the film is thought provoking. Which is in large part due to the overall arc of the story and the message it carry's. That is why even though the bulk of this review sounds like I'm condemning this movie. I'm ending with the reality that I enjoyed Mud immensely. There is a LOT to like about this film.

There was just too much of the film. Way too much. If you catch my drift.

On the 5 star scale. Mud gets 3 stars with a "Go See It!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today. Up next is Star Trek: Into Darkness.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"