Tag Archives: kids

Dave’s Review: Mud

Letter Grade:
(?)

B+
The Good:

Believable acting, especially from the two teenage actors
Beautiful style
Surprisingly sweet


The Bad:

Slow paced at points

Cast & Crew:

Writer: Jeff Nichols
Director: Jeff Nichols
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Reese Witherspoon, Sam Shepard, Michael Shannon

Rated PG-13 for some violence, sexual references, language, thematic elements and smoking

Set along the banks of the Mississippi River in rural and impoverished Arkansas, Mud is a coming of age story centered around two teenagers’ attempts to help a fugitive evade capture and reunite with his true love no matter how dangerous it may be. Matthew McConaughey plays the eponymous fugitive Mud (that’s right, I used the word eponymous …I may have even used it correctly…It can be your word of the day. Look it up. I learned it from a Jack White song.) who is on the run after killing a man who was abusive towards his on again/off again love interest Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). Mud is discovered hiding on an island on the Mississippi River by Ellis, the teenaged protagonist and his friend, Neckbone (yes, that is actually his name in the film, not some sort of weird autocorrect error). The boys agree to help him make his escape, even though they learn he may be dangerous, so he can be reunited with the woman he loves.

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