Rating of
3/4
This Mud is fresh and must be felt
sreekirch - wrote on 09/14/13
Do not go wrong by the name. Jeff Nichols knows such contexts, as he has done it before. (Take Shelter). Family dramas and really a good verse of emotional core, is his area, and here he did no mistake. He puts McCaunaghey (Dominant performance) as Mud, as a fugitive alone in an island fighting for his lost love Juniper (Witherspoon, a slightly indifferent performance) to meet up and escape from there. Nichols brings us this intense and neatly made drama with feasible story telling and game changing performances. Surprise factor: The boys in the film (Sheridan and Shepard) were more than expected. They gave everything they could. In fact, the main asset to this film, is not the hard stick and mixed character of Mud, but the daring and valorous boys. Nichols blends his vision of superb story telling (even though has clichés) with his characters appreciably written and dominantly performed. McCaunaghey is hard as rock here. He gives the lonely island a life. His humor of white shirt and pistol is debatable. Nichols wants us to believe here. That’s all.
What works quite well here, is the stringent tone of the film. The story does not take a back step at all. It propels up when needed and the mostly great expectation comes when the film ends. I was wondering where, this would end. Luckily, Mud is more than I expected. It is a simplistic take. Nothing grandeur in making: Don’t mistake it to be a summer film. Did release that time, but has a far more pronounced and depth what summer films in general have. McCaunaghey and Sheridan are picture perfect. Their chemistry is aesthetic and breathes a fresh air. Deeply rooted and solidly performed, this is the best film summer can have and considering McCauanghey’s career, he is on a roll now. It is not a classic. But it has all the prop ups to give a status of its own. I would call it a neatly written, dominantly performed emotional film that gives the necessary grip, rarely drowned with clichés in the plot. I can easily give it a nod, and would finally assure it as a hold the ace type film. This Mud is fresh and has a reason to feel it.
