What this movie is about and what I think: Along the banks of the Mississippi River a boy sneaks out of his house in the dark hours before sunrise. He meets his best friend out in the woods and together they go in search of a mysterious boat that has washed ashore on an island in the middle of the river.
Their private adventure is interrupted by a squatter that is both disheveled and charming. The boys make an instant connection with the man and from there they begin to uncover his secret and enter into a brand new adventure that takes them across the bridge from carefree childhood to the growing pains of adolescence.
This movie seems to be getting positive reviews from critics all around. I'm a little conflicted because the movie is amazing overall but has several odd, jarring moments that cause it to stumble a little, for me, at least.
The movie follows two boys on the cusp of puberty. They still live like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn: exploring the wild parts of the Mississippi River and having adventures together. I could instantly relate because not so long ago I was a boy too and remember spending all my free time with my best friend exploring the woods and the neighborhoods around our homes from sunup to sundown. That was our world with no intrusion from adults that spoke roughly and had no time for childish things and no thoughts of adult problems like love.
And that is what this movie is about: the boys are thrust into the world of adults in the form of divorce, an amiable but tormented stranger, and authority figures that would see their whole childhood world destroyed. And the movie does this really well, with heartfelt dialogue, excellent pacing, and an amazing performance by Matthew Maconaughey. I think this has to be my favorite Maconaughey movie I've ever seen. He makes Mud an instantly likeable person that easily wins over one of the kids immediately, then the other quickly afterwards.
The movie does stumble in parts, I think, with some odd scenes. In one scene the main child knocks down a much older, much bigger kid and the kid goes down instantly (in fact everyone the kid punches, Mud included, just goes down in one hit) then gets up and... doesn't yell, doesn't throw a punch... just walks off without a word like he all of a sudden got distracted and decided to check on something off camera.
Overall this movie's good qualities outweigh the bad. It's the kind of movie that makes you think about its themes days after seeing it.
Where you can experience what I just described: It's in theaters now.
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