Mud

     Mud is one of the few Indie films with a rating.  It's PG-13.

     I usually really like Mathew McConaughey, but I felt that the plot in this movie was way to dull for even him to liven it up.  The movie started slow, the middle was slow, the climax fell flat, and the ending was disappointing.

     Two poor Mississippi boys, Ellis and Neckbone, find a boat and steal an engine to drive it out to a deserted island.  The action seems like real life.  As a kid I remember doing a lot of dumb things which I thought were amazing because I was just discovering the world around me.  So in that regard, I think that Jeff Nichols, the director, did a good job.  There was nothing magical, nothing unlikely or out of the norm in the film.  Just a couple of kids having what any young boy would consider an adventure. 

     There is some conflict because the two boys come from pretty sad backgrounds.  Ellis has parents who are always fighting, and will likely separate, and Neckbone lives with his brain-dead uncle who spends his time diving for oysters.  Neither of the boys really have a parental figure looking out for them, so the catalyst for them wanting to leave their lives and explore the world is relevant.  

     They get a boat and head out to the deserted island to explore.  They find another boat lodged high up in a tree, a subject which baffles the boys, but drives them to explore.  They decide to make the boat their new "fort".  Upon returning to the island, they find that it is already inhabited by a man called simply Mud.  The boys are instantly fascinated with him, and he feeds their curiosity with wild stories.  There are also myths about him floating around town.

     The boys feed Mud, and make repeated trips to the island.  As it turns out, Mud is wanted by the law.  He came back to their little town to retrieve his old girlfriend who got him in trouble with the law to begin with.  The magic around the mysterious Mud is peeled away, and he is revealed a lovesick, desperate man who would do anything for his love.  

     The boys are eventually followed and a stand-off between Mud and a begrudged bounty hunter who isn't on the up-and-up ensues.  The climax is fairly disappointing, however.

     I think Mud had some potential, but the realism of the situation, and cheesy acting from the two boys, made the film boring.  It's hard to criticize it though because the set-up and lack of actual action is due to the fact that the story is closer to real life than a film.

     The film was boring, but I would still have to give it 3 stars because Mr. Nichols didn't romanticize a true adolescent story of adventure.