Mud is a coming of age drama or Lifetime movie for men. Mud heavily borrows from Mark Twain’s American mystique of the river and untamed land as the setting of an adventure embarked by two fourteen year old boys, primarily Ellis, on the threshold of deciding what kind of men they will become. They discover a boat out of water, stuck in a tree and agree to help Mud, who is played by the eternally magnetic Matthew Mcconaughey. Mud is like a Dickensian ghost of Ellis’ future: a superstitious romantic manchild in fantasy exile from the real world.
Ellis projects all his hopes on Mud’s unrealistic goals, but even a child sees what is in front of him, and he slowly becomes disillusioned with his home life, his personal romantic and chivalrous endeavors and Mud. Even though it is obvious what will happen from the opening scenes, Ellis’ best friend’s fears, Mud’s tattoo and emblematic childhood story and his father’s rant about his mother, the movie picks up from its usual, deliberate pace when Mud proves that Ellis’ faith in love and magic should not die and proves that Mud and others authentically care for Ellis.
Mud alludes to Eden, the woman and snake’s downfall to man. Lost men populate Mud. These men are separated from nature and their inherent traditional gender roles as defenders, providers and protectors and forced into a rigid, urban society. Mud teeters on the adolescent tight rope of misogyny (all women are treacherous bitches who you can’t rely on and will mess up your life) and understanding, but ultimately land on the latter when it shows Mud’s love interest face as it reflects resigned understanding that Mud is living in a dream world. For me, the most powerful scene is when Sarah Paulson, who plays Ellis’ mom, says, “You are a man who doesn’t have the strength to support his own life.”
Mud captures how men live and make themselves a prisoner to their own fantasies and simultaneously lose the very things that they love and treasure by privileging the fantasy over the reality. Women are the cold splash of water and reality-the river. Mud proposes that a balance is necessary-one that is hoped for, but not depicted in Mud, between fantasy, tradition and romance and realistically assessing and navigating your surroundings.
The big denouement scene is impressive and well worth the wait, and quite predictable. If you see Sam Shepard shooting snakes in the river, you know that something big is coming after hours of languorous wilderness ambling. Mud expects its audience to be intelligent and link the visual cues to what is going on instead of maddeningly laying it out verbally after showing it
While I can theoretically appreciate Mud, it is not for me. Young boys struggling with their concepts of manhood generally don’t resonate with me. I knew everything that was going to happen after the first half hour. Nature and Southern mystiques do not automatically captivate me. I did not enjoy the pace. Call me a Philistine, but I could not wait for it to end. I came for the magnificent cast. It is always nice to see Michael Shannon not play a crazy person. Paul Sparks from Boardwalk Empire gets a chance to play a character on the same spectrum as Mickey Doyle, but less annoying. Sarah Paulson has been dominating in powerful supporting roles for a while now. If I knew then what I know now, I would not have watched Mud because it is not for me. Mud is like a fine piece of literature that I have no interest in reading.