PLOT
Ellis and Neckbone are two kids in their early teens living in a small Arkansas town by the river. Both have little parental supervision and spend their days exploring the woods. One day they go to an island off the river to find a boat stuck in a tree. Once there, they discover that the boat already has an owner in a man named Mud. He's an odd man that's been living on this island waiting for his girlfriend to meet him so they can ride off into the sunset on this boat he's found. Mud recruits the help of Ellis and Neckbone to fix the boat, but as time goes on, more and more secrets are revealed about Mud and what his real situation is.
PROS
Matthew McConaughey has been on a roll lately in terms of acting, and "Mud" keeps the ball going. This really is a great performance from him and carries the movie.
Two other great actors are the kids, Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland as Ellis and Neckbone respectively. In a movie like this, which follows the kids for 95% of it, you need at least good kid actors. Luckily, these two go above and beyond and really give great performances.
The film is a coming of age story for Ellis and I like how it's handled. While it is similar to other coming of age stories, the twist comes in it's location and the story involving Mud. It helps to turn this seemingly tired plot into a fresh one.
CONS
I really don't have any major complaints with this film, not to say it's perfect, the complaints are just so minor that there's no point in talking about it.
CONCLUSION
"Mud" is the kind of film that isn't heavy on plot, but is more about the characters and story, and on that level it succeeds. All of the performances are great and the story, while not perfect, is still engaging enough to be entertaining. This is the first movie this year that I can honestly put on a list of best movies of the year.
RATING
RUN TO!!
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