Review of Mud (2013) by Jose M — 02 Jan 2015

One thought crossed my mind while watching Mud, "I should have read Great Expectations when I had the chance to." I then turned to focus on the film and was pretty moved by the story of two best friends who encounter a mysterious man in an island.

His name is Mud and lives in a boat that is stuck on top of a tree. He makes a deal with the two unsuspecting boys while waiting for his girlfriend to pick him up. Already, you can tell Mud is trouble, for his shady personality which the boys will get deeply involve, unsurprisingly.

One of the boys is Ellis and is growing up in a dysfunctional world where he and his parents don't get along. Meanwhile, his best friend Neckbone seems to be doing okay which we don't know a lot about other than him staying with his uncle, salvaging through the river.

The two are tight together and supportive towards one another as they deal with mud in this drama/coming of age film. Mud is a pretty good film thanks to writer and director Jeff Nichols and the performances by Matthew McConaughey, Ty Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, and Reese Witherspoon as Juniper.

Witherspoon plays Juniper, Mud's girlfriend. She's trouble and seems to care about Mud, but is shady. This will affect Ellis who is very ideal in life. Shot in the location of Arkansas, Mud turns out be a heartwarming and often sighing film as the story goes on.

I thought it was really especially as I saw that Ellis was about to be in a world of hurting.