Mud (Jeff Nichols)

[TGM]

MUD

Director:Jeff Nichols

imdb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1935179/?ref_=sr_1)

http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/mud-poster.jpg

[wigwam]

Just got back from this, it's great

[Watashi]

I'm surprised more people haven't seen this. It has a 98% on RT. It's pretty great.

Nichols is one to look out for.

[Ezee E]

Looking forward to this. It's in a small amount of theaters, but just opened on Friday.

[Pop Trash]

I'm surprised more people haven't seen this. It has a 98% on RT. It's pretty great.

Nichols is one to look out for.

There's such a random glut of new movies out that I want to see. I still can't believe I haven't seen the new Malick.

[TGM]

Probably the best movie I've seen so far this year.

[Mysterious Dude]

I enjoyed this, though I found it rather formulaic compared to Take Shelter.

[MarcusBrody]

I finally saw this last night. Really liked it. I'm a sucker for a straightforward Southern swamp fable.

I thought that the only part that moved to being distractingly formulaic was the ending. (Minor spoilers ahead)

I really thought that the movie should have ended earlier. Had it ended when Mud waves to Juniper and walks away, I think it would have been ideal. The climactic action scene seemed unnecessary yet predictable. If they wanted more closure, I would have added the first half of the final boat scene before the driver goes under.

[Ezee E]

This is pretty good, but it just kind of trucks along with nothing notable to say about it. I enjoyed the acting thoroughly across the board. The young kids are never annoying, and actually very convincing. I guess it seemed a little formulaic. Mud never came across as mysterious, endearing, or scary to be around.

I like the atmosphere and setting. Movies in this area seem to always get a pass.

Reese Witherspoon looks fantastic in jean shorts.

[eternity]

I'm shocked more people here haven't seen this. This was really solid.

[DavidSeven]

What am I missing here? This just felt too long and largely unmemorable. It's more watchable than Take Shelter but far less ambitious. I doubt I'll remember anything about it a year from now. It just sort of plods along and unravels as you expect it to. The final shoot out versus anonymous thugs and their one dimensional big boss was about as rote a climax as you could get. And then Nichols once again goes cheap with his denouement, but in just a lazier and more formulaic sense than in his previous film. I really don't get the hype for the film or the filmmaker.

[Ezee E]

What am I missing here? This just felt too long and largely unmemorable. It's more watchable than Take Shelter but far less ambitious. I doubt I'll remember anything about it a year from now. It just sort of plods along and unravels as you expect it to. The final shoot out versus anonymous thugs and their one dimensional big boss was about as rote a climax as you could get. And then Nichols once again goes cheap with his denouement, but in just a lazier and more formulaic sense than in his previous film. I really don't get the hype for the film or the filmmaker.

After Shotgun Stories, I'm going to agree with you.

There seemed to be a lot of potential for a great idea, but it does just plod along. The mob group seems totally unnecessary too.

[Dillard]

I think this one is measured by how invested you get in Ellis' coming of age story, Mud's lovable dog personality, and their relationship. I really couldn't get enough of it. Nichols writes great dialogue. I liked the slow unfolding feel to this: very novella like. I like the downtime with these characters, for as well as they are written and acted. Thought the shoot-out scene was a bit much, but it didn't detract from what came before for me. I will remember Ellis and I will remember Mud. This one is infused with the child-like wonder of Spielberg's best, substitute the sci-fi for backwater Arkansas.

[plain]

Jeff Nichols casts a very wide net with Mud: love, loss, coming of age, fathers and sons, doomed romances, sacrifice, it's all there. Again, Nichols sticks to what he knows best -- a vast and expansive southern milieu that seems to grow rather than cave in on itself. Mud has its heart in all the right places, but I can't help but feel a sense of unevenness around every corner. There's a sense of sadness that seems to rear its head every now and again, an all-encompassing flame of love that can't withstand the wear and tear of being young and growing old. There is some gorgeous imagery as well, however fleeting it is; I suppose I may grow a tad fonder of this as it marinates around, but the weight/conflict/and stakes of the entire film take way too long to kick in, thus feeling slighted -- and then it's over. One last thing: how did Shea Whigham and Dermot Mulroney find themselves absent from this film? Thank god for Michael Shannon and his semi-brief presence. Also, this thing is 20 minutes too long.

[Yxklyx]

Wow, just wow! Loved this! Formulaic - yeah somewhat so but it doesn't really matter to me when it's made by a master alchemist. The shootout was very reminiscent of the crazy finale of Night Moves.

[Grouchy]

I thought I'd already commented on this one, but yes, another great film by Nichols.

[Fezzik]

Finally, a great movie in 2013. Everything about this one just dug into me. The setting, the atmosphere, the entire look of it, etc.

The performances were great across the board. McConaughey was as good as I've ever seen him, and both the kids were great, but this Tye Sheridan kid is gonna be one to watch. He's spectacular.

Aside from the one issue I had (as others have noted, the denouement seemed a bit tacked on), I thought this was phenomanl

[Qrazy]

Falters at the snake bite, then the shoot out and finally the denouement. The majority of what came before is good minus the whole all women are shit and will destroy you angle.

[Pop Trash]

The majority of what came before is good minus the whole all women are shit and will destroy you angle.

Except that's true.

Just kidding.

Not really.

Maybe.

[Pop Trash]

I liked this, but like a lot of the popular indie films I've seen lately, there are still some nagging issues that keep it from really knocking my socks off. It gets a bit conventional and draggy and my mind started to wander once the plot mechanics kicked in. That said, I loved all the small details and it gets the two kids right. I also liked that it didn't seem to be set in any specific time period. I figured it was in the early to mid 90s given that one kid's Fugazi tshirt he sported in the early scenes (then again, in this kind of movie he may as well have gotten it from a thrift store and not know who the hell Fugazi is).

[dreamdead]

It's ok. As everyone has already noted, it bogs down in the final act, with the snakebite on just kinda there. Sheridan is quite strong, but it's Ellis's parents who I find to be the standouts here. Otherwise, like Qrazy, I also had a little anti-women vibe here, but attribute that more to the vagaries of adolescence--notice how quickly Ellis moves on as he's entering his mom's place--than any actual misogyny. The film felt a little too schematic in those moments, actually, as it had three layers of women's betrayal before acknowledging Ellis's own shortcomings and perspective.

Still need to see Nichols's SS, but definitely prefer Take Shelter to this one.

[Dukefrukem]

This was great.