REVIEW: McConaughey’s Mud A Good Story Well Told

We may have mentioned before that we are a little surprised about the turnaround in Matthew McConaughey’s career recently, and it is certainly not easy to achieve. Besides A Time To Kill way back in 1996, McConaughey has not really put in a performance where he doesn’t look like he was mocking the entire affair.

Over the years, he had become the butt of many jokes, mainly revolving around the fact that he was never able to keep that shirt on despite his best attempts. Matthew severely backed himself into the rom-com corner and due to the fact that he seemed to be raking it in with each new box office success, became entirely incapable of getting himself back out of there.

However, McConaughey has had such a career turnaround over the last few years that can only be rivalled by the likes of Robert Downey Jr. In 2005, he made an appearance in the woeful Sahara, now he has been cast in Christopher Nolan’s latest project, Interstellar. Granted, the list of bad McConaughey films outweighs the good to a huge extent, but he is certainly make a huge attempt to pull that margin back.

He promised that he would attempt to undo his rom-com reputation and put it all to rights; Lincoln Lawyer was the first expedition for McConaughey down Good Actor’s Row. Then came Bernie, Killer Joe, The Paperboy and Magic Mike, each performance better than the rest.

Mud continues this clean streak. Revolving around teenagers, 14-year-old Ellis and his friend Neckbone, who go off on an adventure to find a boat that is trapped in a tree, they soon find themselves far deeper into a dangerous situation than they ever could have imagined. When they find the boat, which has apparently becoming stranded in a tree due to a flood, they discover that not only is someone living in the vessel, he is a fugitive on the run, waiting for an opportunity to rendezvous with his girlfriend, Juniper.

Unfortunately, half the state is watching for the fugitive nicknamed Mud, but Ellis believes in his plight and the cause of true love and decides to help him, unwillingly aided by his friend Neckbone who is a bit wiser to the world. However, things spiral out of the boys control and something that seemed innocent at the beginning places almost every one they know in danger.

There are so many nods to young adventure films in Mud that it is almost difficult to keep up, but it echoes most notably Tom Sawyer and to a lesser extent, Stand By Me. Jeff Nichols wrote the script while he was still at college and cites Mark Twain as a huge influence on the project.

Nichols is perhaps best known for his last production, the monumental Take Shelter starring Michael Shannon, and he shows no signs of giving up on commitment to his work; Mud is made with an extreme amount of love, the theme of love constantly resonating throughout the entire piece. The fact that this is Arkansas is irrelevant, this tale could be told anywhere, at any time and about anyone. The themes do not lend themselves to originality but they are treated with such gusto and enthusiasm it would be difficult to criticize.

The performances are spectacular, McConaughey’s Mud is still as much of a mystery towards the end of the two hours he keeps us company as he is at the beginning. Witherspoon, who plays Juniper, is refreshing to see in the role of the selfish girlfriend who seems to be only looking out for herself. There is a brief and outstanding appearance from Michael Shannon, but as is the norm, there is never enough Shannon in films.

However, the boys are the real stand-out performances. Neckbone, played by Jacob Lofland is the wonderful comic relief and Tye Sheridan who plays Ellis is flawless. Emotionally scarred but eternally hopeful, Ellis believes in love like no one else in the film, the fact that he is the one who often gets hurt the most says a lot about his innocence and naivety.

The only major problem with Mud is its length, the entire affair lasting just over the two hour mark, which is a little difficult considering it is such a weighty character piece. Nonetheless, thoroughly recommended and the perfect anti-Star Trek film for this weekend.

Wait for that shirt to come off...