Trey 5/5
A film so reminiscent of the great child adventures of our past but with mature and emotional twists. Boasting great performances by Matthew McConaughey and the young Tye Sheriden, Jeff Nichols creates an American Southern Classic that is never to bitter nor sweet. It filled with adventure, heart and more so than anything love. It reminds me as to why I love films and gives me the first film of the year that I would truly consider great.
Suzanne 5 out of 5
This movie is by far the best movie that I have seen all year and it will be hard to top it. It is not just your typical story of kids trying to make their lives more exciting, it has twists and turns and you never know what is going to happen next. Matthew McConaughey is fantastic as usual but he takes it a huge step further in this movie. The character that stuck with me the most though was Tye Sheriden but I will get into that later in the review.
Jeff Nichols strides towards Indie fame with his 3rd film in his career. Take Shelter his previous film was wildly successful and provided me in particular with an insight on how great this director may be. This film takes a completely different angle than Take Shelter did and offered a Stand By Me like Southern adventure. It revolves around 2 kids Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) who discover a boat in a tree that they claim to be there's. The problem is someone lives up in that Boat in the form of Mud (Matthew McConaughey), a superstitious, mysterious traveler who is waiting for his lost lover Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). With his charming personality Mud persuades the two kids to help him with a serious of tasks in hope to get his lover back.
Visuals
Trey: Since this film has no CGI from what I could tell, I will only base this portion on cinematography. Honestly, its absolutely stunning because it is filled beautiful nature shots and close-ups at just the right moment. You never feel to clustered with close-ups, Nichols always knows when to pull it back at the right moments. Great job on the cinematography.
Suzanne: I thought visually that this movie was quite spectacular. I know it isn't filled with CGI and crazy graphics but I think that is why I liked it so much. This director, Jeff Nichols, does an amazing job finding places that you would never take a second look at and he makes them beautiful, in my eyes at least. One of my favorite parts on this movie were the scanning nature shots throughout the movie.
Audio and Score
Trey: I don't have much to say, I am not a fan of country music but it fit the movie well. It offered some of the same instrumental score that I remember from Take Shelter. It works for the film just not the highlight of the film by any means.
Suzanne: There isn't really a lot to say about this section. I don't remember hearing that much music besides country but it well with the movie so that is that.
Acting
Trey: Now we get into the exciting stuff, the acting in this film is top notch. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Matthew McConaughey has an Oscar nod at the end of the year. He carried this film and was impossible to take your eyes off, for once not because his lack of a shirt. (He actually kept it on most of the film) He was absolutely phenomenal and kept me anxious for the next mysterious appearance. The other highlight was the 16 year old Tye Sheridan, who hit the emotional high and lows of adolescence like a pro. As for everyone else they all complimented the performances of the main two men.
Suzanne: Amazing! That is what I have to say about the acting in this movie. As we know Matthew McConaughey was great as usual his country accent worked well in this movie because they were down south. He was a very mysterious character and I found myself wondering what he would be up to next throughout the entire movie. For me the highlight character of the movie was Tye Sheridan. When this movie was filmed he was 16 years old, though he doesn't look it. He did such an amazing job with his character I just couldn't believe it. There was one point in the movie where he made me cry it was, as Trey said, the emotional high of the movie. I will say all of the other characters meshed really well into the movie and did an amazing job as well. They all played their roles perfectly which really helped this movie to be the amazing one that it is.
Story
Trey: The story started out very slow and took about 15-20 minutes to actually kick in, when Mud first appears. Then its a slow burning enticing story that is doused with multiple themes that somehow never become heavy handed. Nichols most affective talent is the way in which he gives minor characters like Ellis dad or Neckbone's uncle (Michael Shannon) layers upon layers of personality in limited dialogue. I can tell you more about those 2 characters than I can about some main characters in films. The final hour of this film is full of twist and turns and offer some of the most emotional scenes I have seen in the last year. The way in which the Mud and Juniper's relationship is unveiled and Ellis and his quest for love is revealed it pure perfection. I can't say enough about the story written by Jeff Nichols it really is incredible.
Suzanne: This story was extremely interesting to me and pretty original which I think is what made it so enjoyable to watch. I think that Trey pretty much said it all when it comes to the story of this movie. The ending of this movie was by far one of the best endings that I have ever seen. There were so many twists that I could hardly believe it and that really carried the movie for me. I think that Jeff Nichols is one of the most incredible directors and writers and he is someone to look out for.
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