Mud

Jeff Nichols’ strong follow-up to 2011’s Take Shelter is another examination of male conflict; this time in the form of a coming-of-age adventure tale. Ellis (Sheridan) and Neckbone (Lofland) are two Arkansas teens drawn to a tiny deserted island where – thanks to a flood – a boat rests high up in a tree. There they discover a leisurely fugitive named Mud (McConaughey), who's waiting to meet his girlfriend (Witherspoon) for whom he has killed to protect. Lured by and ultimately idolising the man’s seemingly romantic ideals, the two boys become accomplices to Mud’s plans, which involve evading a vengeful family and its hired posse.

Like Take Shelter, Mud evokes a potent sense of place, and much of the film is built on a dreamy atmosphere that lets its narrative and characters, which draw from Mark Twain (and arguably Cormac McCarthy), breathe to beneficial and often beautiful results. Credit must also be given to the lead trio’s excellent performances, particularly that of The Tree of Life actor Sheridan.

Mud’s major thematic concerns are with sons’ rapports with their fathers, biological and surrogate, and with notions of trust and strength regarding both women and love. It is to a slight detriment that the film has perhaps one relationship too many for each theme, causing stretches of the second hour to feel somewhat sluggish. The finale, meanwhile, slides into a conventionally violent, rushed payoff that feels at odds with the film’s lyrical, relatively serene tone up to that point. Still, the disappointing denouement is far outweighed by the overall strength of the journey to that resolution.

Interview: Mississippi Yearning - Jeff Nichols on Mud.