Mud (2013)
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Reviews Counted: 158
Fresh: 155 | Rotten: 3
Bolstered by a strong performance from Matthew McConaughey in the title role, Mud offers an engaging Southern drama that manages to stay sweet and heartwarming without being sappy.
Average Rating: 8.1/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 32 | Rotten: 1
Bolstered by a strong performance from Matthew McConaughey in the title role, Mud offers an engaging Southern drama that manages to stay sweet and heartwarming without being sappy.
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Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 68,961
Movie Info
Mud is an adventure about two boys, Ellis and his friend Neckbone, who find a man named Mud hiding out on an island in the Mississippi. Mud describes fantastic scenarios-he killed a man in Texas and vengeful bounty hunters are coming to get him. He says he is planning to meet and escape with the love of his life, Juniper, who is waiting for him in town. Skeptical but intrigued, Ellis and Neckbone agree to help him. It isn't long until Mud's visions come true and their small town is besieged by a
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Cast
-
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Tye Sheridan
Ellis -
Jacob Lofland
Neckbone -
Reese Witherspoon
Juniper -
Sarah Paulson
Mary Lee -
Ray McKinnon
Senior -
Sam Shepard
Tom Blakenship -
Michael Shannon
Galen -
Paul Sparks
Carver -
Joe Don Baker
King -
Johnny Cheek
Kyle -
Bonnie Sturdivant
May Pearl -
Stuart Greer
Miller -
Clayton Carson
Pryor
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Mud Trailer & Photos
All Critics (158) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (155) | Rotten (3) | DVD (2)
For at least three-quarters of the way, this is a fine film, and one that kids and parents could see together.
There is an enchanted-fairy-tale aspect to Mud, but its bright, calm surface only barely disguises a strong, churning undercurrent.
A modern fairy tale, steeped in the sleepy Mississippi lore of Twain and similar American writers, and with a heart as big as the river is wide.
Top CriticNichols has a strong feeling for the tactility of natural elements-water, wood, terrain, weather.
Nichols takes his time with the story, dwelling on how the boy is shaped by the killer's tragic sense of romance, yet the suspense holds.
"Mud" isn't just a movie. It's the firm confirmation of a career.
Often the movies absorb these ideas in plots that are eager to retread to action and violence, but Nichols finds a resonating and sharp tone here that understates those desires.
A highly personal tale of undergrown men and overgrown boys experiencing the growing pains of love turned unrequited, and the realization that nothing-not freedom, not security, not innocence, not love-lasts forever. [Blu-ray]
Mud improves steadily as it progresses, however, as Nichols does a superb job of fleshing out the story and characters...
Mud should cement [writer-director Jeff Nichols'] reputation as a storyteller capable of extracting intense excitement from character-based dramas.
Warm, humorous, and smart, a Huckleberry Finnish snapshot of carefree boyhood on the brink of adolescence.
Mud is about the fragility of men, the craving to be loved - by a woman, by other men - and how easily that love is misplaced, taken away, cheated or lost.
Mud has a rare big-screen beauty, and its old-fashioned storytelling recalls A River Runs Through It, Night of the Hunter, and Stand By Me.
This moody, broody character-driven crime story is another fine step in the career redemption of Matthew McConaughey.
Mud is the kind of small scale, character driven drama one rarely sees out of the States any more, and cements Nichols as one of his country's most significant independent auteurs.
Just like its lead character, this film is packed to the brim with sadness, swagger and soul.
All the women in this movie are shrews, liars and/or emasculators.
Mud is a moving exploration into the nature of manhood, with superb performances, striking location and engrossing story creating a mesmerising and heartfelt coming of age drama.
A stripped back approach to tracking the process of growing up, but lacks the faith to see the plan executed to the end
Nichols takes his time unravelling Mud and Ellis's entwined fates, but his characters are so rich that it's well worth being in their company.
In its energy and nuance, Mud seems like the kind of film Hollywood would've made in the Seventies, and would've continued to do if not for the advent of market-conscious filmmaking.
More than a mere tribute to Twain and Dickens: this has all the makings of a modern classic.
An extremely sophisticated and progressive examination on how adolescent masculinity is defined by often-contradictory cultural attitudes towards femininity.
Mud is as beautiful to watch as it is to listen to, and feel kinship to, whether you're from the South or just Southern at heart.
In Jeff Nichols, America has a champion of the religious and working class. With the schism between the right and left in the U.S. growing ever larger... his ascent couldn't have come at a better time.
Audience Reviews for Mud
Super Reviewer
Extremely slow paced, I hate to admit I fell asleep at one point (this was extreme fatigue and not that the movie was that bad!).
At first I found it dull, but it does grow on you as it goes along and I enjoyed the small town setting and the other little plots such as the teen boy's girlfriend and the break up of his parents. It's an extremely well made movie once you go along with it. Definitely not a feel good and won't be for everyone. I'm surprised that my opinion changed so drastically by the middle. I was really ready to switch this off after ten minutes, but I wanted to wait and see Reese, and she took so long to appear the darn thing grew on me.
Super Reviewer
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- Juniper: Why are you helpin' us?
- Ellis: Because both of you love each other.
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- Mary Lee: How old are you?
- Ellis: Fourteen.
- Mary Lee: You know you just hit a senior.
- Ellis: So what!
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- Ellis: I ain't a townie!
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- Ellis: You gave up on her. She gave up on you. Just like anybody else. I trusted you.
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- Ellis: It's the law.
- Neckbone: It's bullshit.
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- Juniper: Why are you helping us?
- Ellis: Because both of you love each other.
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Embarrassingly corny and hammy | 15 hours ago | 82 |
| Oscar Buzz | 29 days ago | 18 |
| Guess the Tomatometer | 45 days ago | 12 |
| Question about one of the final scenes. (possible spoiler) | 21 days ago | 12 |
| What should I see, this or The Big Wedding? | 4 months ago | 9 |
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Foreign Titles
- Mud - Sur les rives du Mississippi (FR)
Set in a small southeastern Arkansas town along the Mississippi River, this is a coming-of-age tale of young teenager Ellis and his buddy Neckbone.
One day Ellis and Neckbone come across a mysterious drifter named Mud who is hiding out on an island in the middle of the Mississippi.
Initially unsure of what to make of him, the boys eventually befriend Mud, and decide to help him out of a sticky situation. Turns out Mud is a wanted fugitive on the run. He's trying to reunite with his childhood love Juniper and evade the vengeful family of a man he killed. Mud killed a guy who impregnated Juniper, then abused her, causing her to lose the baby. Along the way, the boys learn valuable life lessons, both heartfelt, and heartbreaking.
I enjoyed this. And, having spent time in Arkansas (and living most of my life in one of its neighboring states), I can verify that this is a realistic and accurate portrait of life in that particular state. This is a compelling and beautiful drama that also feels rather poetic and lyrical at times.
I do think that the film is far stronger in the first half, and not as interesting when it gets into thriller territory during the second portion, but think that overall it is still a worthwhile film. And having a shootout at least delivers some excitement to help push the lengthy proceedings along, even if, as I said, the coming-of-age stuff is better.
Matthew McConaughey is typically strong and charming as Mud, Reese Withersppon is solidly world-weary as Juniper, and there's also appearances from Joe Don Baker, Sam Shepard, and Michael Shannon who are terrific supporters, but the real treats here are young newcomers Tye Sheridan as Ellis and Jacob Lofland as Neckbone. Child actors are generally hit and miss, but these two are great. They radiate naturalism, and are perfectly cast in their parts, giving some rich and realistic performances.
All in all, this is a quite strong film. It gets a bit bogged down as it goes on, but ultimately adds up to a fine, gorgeous, and compelling slice of Americana.