Moving beyond clichés

Mud, rated PG-13, is the best film I've seen this year. It opens with a scene of a boy overhearing his mother pleading with his father to listen to her concerns, but the father walks away without responding. My first impression had me thinking this was a wife trying to confront her abusive husband but failing. Later we see the father interact gruffly with his son as they deliver fish he has caught on the river where they live in a houseboat.

But soon we discover the father’s tenderness toward his son. And we learn that the mother actually owns the houseboat, inherited from her family, and is threatening to sell it. She is the one with power.

Mud  is a coming-of-age film about two Arkansas teenagers, Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), who become friends with Mud (Matthew McConaughey), a fugitive who wants to reunite with his old girlfriend, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon), and then skip town. The boys agree to help him and keep his presence there secret from the police, who are searching for him because he killed Juniper’s husband, who was abusive toward her.

The film includes many arresting characters, including the small town where it’s set. It takes us into the lives of people who make their living off the river and again moves beyond the usual stereotypes of southern small towns. Director Jeff Nichols, who also made the excellent film Take Shelter, presents the details of life in the town and the struggle to make a living.

While McConaughey gives an arresting performance, the two teenagers, Sheridan and Lofland, captured my attention even more. Their characters are so well-written and finely portrayed that we accept their struggles and their courage. Ellis (Sheridan also appeared in The Tree of Life) becomes the focus of the film, as he learns harsh lessons about love and betrayal, not only in his relationship with Mud but with his parents as they head toward divorce and with an older girl he likes.

While the film surprises us in several ways, it is not devoid of cliché. The father of the man Mud killed is portrayed as especially evil, though we do see his grief. And Neckbone’s uncle (and guardian) is a bit over-the-top. But throughout the film runs a tender concern for each character, rare in most films.

Mud  played in competition at Cannes in 2012, then again at Sundance in January, so it’s considered an art house film. But it’s proven to be popular with audiences, having played more than a month in Wichita, Kan., for example. One reason for this is its authentic portrayal of people. Its characters surprise us and draw us into their world.