Review of Mud (2013) by D S — 27 Mar 2014

I appreciate "Mud" more as I look back on it. The lead child actor, Tye Sheridan as Ellis, was great and should've been billed above Reese Witherspoon & equally with McConaughey.

Honestly, I think Ellis was the storyline's anchor and the person that the film is truly about despite the reviews focusing on McConaughey & Witherspoon. Mud is a well developed character and acted with ease that you see Mud & not McConaughey.

However, the main story is how Ellis projects his beliefs of love onto Mud & Juniper's relationship. These beliefs tie love directly to commitment, sacrifice, courage, and not giving up. Therefore helping Mud preserves his world view in the face of his parents' separation and the looming loss of his way of life on the river. Most of the movie is about the world around him tearing down Ellis' belief and how he invests more & more into Mud & Juniper to preserve his view... even investing more than either of the lovers are willing to invest. In the end, Mud & Juniper fail him as everyone else has and he's forced to face the harsh reality that love does not guarantee commitment, courage, sacrifice, & perseverance. However, he is given hope by his father that if he finds a woman 1/2 as good as him, he will find what he is looking for. In the end it is left to Ellis to decide whether to grab onto that hope. His subtle smile after the girl at his new apartment waves to him is enough to show that he has to courage to grab onto that hope.