Matthew McConaughey is right now in the process of performing one of the toughest challenges any perfectly sculpted actor can attempt: The George Clooney. By this I mean the Sisyphean trial of climbing the immense hill towards being a respectable and respected actor, only to be brought down time and again by easy charm and chiseled abs. But like Clooney, Charlize Theron and Ben Affleck before him, McConaughey is very near to achieving victory. With "The Lincoln Lawyer" and "Bernie" under his belt, "Mud" has now all but leveled out that rom-com pit of shame.
Set in a junkyard wasteland along the rivers of Arkansas, 14-year-old Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and his foul-mouthed friend Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) live in the homemade houseboats and ramshackle trailers in one of those ignored parts of USA. The two find a boat which has been left suspended in a tree on a deserted island after a flash flood. Plotting to make it their own, they stumble upon a murderer known to us only as Mud, who in turn forms a dangerous pact with the boys.
Ellis is our protagonist and he is what we would call a "very good boy". Among his virtues he is trusting, loyal and is a hopeless romantic. Throughout the course of the film we see him unwittingly corrupted, turned into a liar and a thief as the shady Mud--knowingly or unknowingly, you decide--taps into Ellis' undying hope in true and lasting love. Mud asks that Ellis help him get in touch with his once girlfriend, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon), and as the clock ticks away and the police tighten their grip on the town looking for Mud, Ellis and Neckbone must help him get the treeboat back in working order and repair his broken relationship.
Who is this Mud, and do we love him or hate him? His crooked teeth, the nails in his boots and the snake tattoo running down his arm would suggest a villain, but when hiding in a boat in a tree, gulping down cans of Beanie Wienies, it's rather hard to take him seriously. The story is very much about the tug and pull of wanting to like a flawed man, but contending this with the duplicitous characters who speak ill of him. Who can we trust when we can't believe any of them? Mud is a complex character and his surface is barely scratched by the script, but McConaughey gives him a richness that can't be ignored.
This winding piece of dark Americana possibly suffers from too many subplots (a "Chinatown" inspired one involving bounty hunters is formless and almost silly), but it is bolstered by a slew of wonderful performances, especially those from the young actors and McConaughey. This is certainly the latter's film, and I wouldn't be surprised if it gets him on an early shortlist of Oscar contenders, but Sheridan and Lofland's acting turns deserve no small amount of praise.
The two of them give understated and believable performances--Witherspoon overacts them right off the screen--with Sheridan giving a beautifully simple presentation of the naive and honor bound Ellis. For me, however, Lofland stole the whole film. This first time actor is obviously whip-smart and has a terrific sense of comedic timing. It was very clear that the boys had excellent chemistry, and Sheridan's best work came when playing opposite Lofland. In acting it is never about how good you can make yourself look, but about how you can better your fellow actors' performances, and I think that speaks volumes about this very promising young talent.
It is no masterpiece, but "Mud" is acted with confidence and is tautly directed. What was nicest about the whole thing was seeing a team of people trying very hard to complete a unique vision. There are several names attached to this project whose future work I will be waiting for with anticipation.
3/4
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