‎Mud (2012) directed by Jeff Nichols • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Mud

2012 Directed by Jeff Nichols

Running from his past. Hiding from the law. Only one way out.

Two boys find a fugitive hiding out on an island in the Mississippi River and form a pact to help him reunite with his lover and escape.

Matthew McConaughey Tye Sheridan Jacob Lofland Sam Shepard Reese Witherspoon Sarah Paulson Michael Shannon Ray McKinnon Joe Don Baker Paul Sparks Stuart Greer Michael Abbott Jr. Bonnie Sturdivant

130 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by adrianbalboa ★★★★ 4

what ever happened to matthew mcconaughey he had like 3 really good years starting in 2012 and then peaced out and probably lives in the woods somewhere like in this movie. i bet he uses his oscar to kill small animals in the bayou
Review by Adam Cook ★★★★ 83

With his third feature, writer-director Jeff Nichols, announces himself as one of the great American directors of his generation delivering a heartfelt and evocative coming-of-age drama about love and loss. Set in the backwater estuaries of Arkansas, Mud is the story of two adolescent friends - Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) - and their relationship with the titular Mud, a drifter and fugitive washed in on the bayou tide. Discovering a kindred spirit they agree to help this stranger in need and reunite him with his girlfriend.

Mud, much like the eponymous character, is wrapped up in the shaggy-dog mythology of the Mississippi. It’s a Southern fable rich in character and texture - a story born from the…
Review by Mary Conti ★★★★ 9

Instead of talking about the story and script of Mud (barring some minor issues, it's damn good), or the acting (The Matthew McConaughey renaissance proves to be one of the best comebacks of recent memory), I'd like to focus on the thing that I found made Mud so very special: Texture

What do I mean when I say "texture"? Well, you ever watch a movie, and you feel it? Almost like you're actually in it? That's what I call "texture". The more you can feel a movie, the more authentic it feels, and the more authentic it feels, the better invested you are in it.

Authenticity is important. Even if we're watching a Science Fiction film, as long as the…
Review by Peaceful Stoner ★★★★★ 35

Jeff Nichols’ Mud is a beautiful coming of age film. Not only is it beautiful but also, compelling, thrilling, heartily emotional and a well-rounded film.

Nichols takes ample time, to sculpt each character in the film making them well fleshed out. This provided for an incredibly rewarding watch with a tremendous sense of feeling and affinity to the characters. No one in this film seemed like an additional baggage or being shoe horned into the story to take it forward. Everyone has a part to play, an important part at that too. Never did the 2 hour long film seemed overdrawn. It took its time sinking in every speckle of beauty in the beautiful southern setting of the Arkansas backwaters,…
Review by Sean Cordy ★★★★ 10

I re-watched Mud tonight to see if it could live up to my previous viewing. Much like The Place Beyond the Pines, it does add up but it actually improved. TPBTP had one of the greatest acts of the century but faltered after its first 40 minutes. Jeff Nichols’s Mud, however, doesn’t ever really falter at all – consistently great cinema.

What my re-watch showed me, was that it gets the little things right to amplify the big picture of it all. From Mud telling Neckbone that he’ll teach him something his daddy never did (which segways to a small side story of Neckbone being raised by his uncle) to Mud’s animalistic traits such as leaving his mark on the…
Review by Gui (FKA William Tell) ★★★★ 2

Nichols strikes again with a moving story as much about childhood as about adulthood. With discreet and beautiful camerawork, it unfolds with the meeting of two young boys and a fugitive from the law. At first everything is in its place: our eyes, nature and an interesting and very original story. But soon the plot takes over, and while the screenplay utters some of the most interesting lines of the year, the excessive action undermines the director's great sense of beauty, character and place. Nevertheless, subtle and pervasive performances drive us through these characters' lives with much truth and wisdom. Its brave and adventurous spirit is slightly damaged by the end, but to call Mud a stream of life and universal subjects is to break its imperfectly beautiful world.

Recent reviews

Review by caseysucks ★★★★

This is how you do a coming of age story. an up and coming young actor with an a-list supporting cast and a story. wonderful to watch and rewatch
Review by Chris Stuckmann ★★★★½

The type of film that's miraculously heartwarming, while also mournful and filled with sorrow.
Review by robcroon ★★★½

A well structured drama with a taste for crime. Finally Matthew McConaughey stars in a decent film after so many shitty ones. But the main attraction is the interaction between the two boys and the rest of the cast. Tye Sheridan and jacob Lofland get all the praise. Although the movie is a tad too long for my taste it's well worth your time. There are small details in the first act that are touched upon later and give more character to the film. Also starring in smaller roles Sam Shepard, Michael Shannon and the classic Joe Don Baker (I thought he passed away years ago).
Review by JordanFerguson ★★★★

Probably the best Tom Sawyer movie that will ever be made. Mud has the depth and complexity of a great coming-of-age adventure story in the Twain mold. There are no minor characters here--everyone is well drawn and understandable, layered from the first. The performances are all stellar, as is Andrew Stone's cinematography. It captures a time, place, and feeling incredibly well, and truly has the shape and drive of a classic novel. It has echoes of To Kill a Mockingbird as well, in the idea of Ellis' eyes slowly opening to a world that is more morally complex and flawed than he had previously realized.
Review by ghdighdi1234 ★★★½

개인에서 공동체, 공동체에서 거대한 강과 마을의 지형으로.
Review by GameAndGuy ★★★★

It's like ET if ET killed someone and his spaceship is a boat in a tree.

It's like Lilo and Stitch except Stitch is tall, tan, and handsome.
Review by GlouthJaeguer ★★★★

Brillante dirección, guion y actuaciones.
Review by JBarcomb ★★★½

Not as emotionally hard-hitting as it should be, Mud benefits from a strong ensemble and assured direction from Jeff Nichols. 7.5/10
Review by Matthew D'Souza ★★★★★

An endearing drama.

Mud (2012) is one of my all time favorite films. Matthew McConaughey was on a career return to form after The Lincoln Lawyer (2011). He is heartfelt and dramatic in a very engaging way. I love the character of Mud and how is in a father figure to the main boy, Ellis, so wonderfully portrayed by a young Tye Sheridan. In essence, Mud is about fatherhood and that love that is required for successful parenting.

Reese Witherspoon gives her best acting to date in Mud as Mud's girlfriend Juniper. She is really sweet, but adds a certain depth and darkness to the character that makes her fascinating.

Sarah Paulson is so sweet and likable as Ellis' mother.…