Movie Review: Mud

Smooth on the surface, gritty deeper down, life's detritus accumulating over the years. Soft and smooth yet somehow amassing the ability to suck you in and suffocate you..... Look but don't touch. Keep moving.

Matthew McConaughey's latest movie takes place along a slow moving river in a sluggish southern town. McConaughey plays a drifter named "Mud" who's a lovelorn fugitive, befriended by two curious teenage boys. They are wise to be leery of Mud's story but end up helping him evade the local police when he spins his tale of heartache. A mutually beneficial deal is made that slowly builds in intensity - like the slow and steady rise of floodwaters. It's hard not to be reminded of "Stand By Me" but Mud's mix of quasi creepy/charming ways add an element of the real world that doesn't allow for folly. A mishmash of damaged characters act out their dreams and dysfunctions, some improving, others sinking ever downward. This is not a movie for everyone but it's a well told tale worth seeing.