Mud (2012) - No Mud At All.

★★★★☆

This film is a reminiscence of all those little adventures I took when I was a ‘fearless’ little boy. Compared with what Ellis and Neckbone encounter in the film, mine are much less dangerous, and so less memorable. ‘Mud’ opens with a young boy named Ellis setting out with his playmate Neckbone for an abandoned island where they run into a fugitive called Mud, who later persuades them to help him escape with his girlfriend.

Matthew McConaughey’s Mud seems like a charming, faithful good man, and easily earns our sympathy after he explains to the boys why he’s at large. From his story, we learn that he’s a believer in love. He made mistakes before, and is now facing the consequences but he’s still not giving it up until he’s told the so-called truth seen by the boys. What makes the story so intriguing is that everybody seems to hold some sort of secrets about their past. It’s like each of them holding a piece of puzzle to a whole picture that we never get to know for sure. It’s all up to us to believe whose story’s more convincing. Like Ellis, I believe in Mud all the way.

This is a story of love and courage. A person like Mud is kind of rare since nowadays people tend to take love or relationship as part-time entertainment rather than full-time commitment. Mud may sound like a chicken or a reckless fool in the beginning but what he decides to do without any hesitation in the end strongly suggests he’s not. That he’s a very reasonable and wise man indeed. He knows when he should stick onto his belief and not let go, and when he should stay positive and make a turn as the road ahead is coming to an end! Say, life’s full of hopes and opportunities provided that you’re willing to open up your mind and realize that, like Ellis and Mud.

‘Mud’ is no mud at all. In fact it’s pretty solid in terms of storytelling and characterization. It may seem slow-paced and mundane at first, but if you give your patience and attention, not only will you be entertained, but also deeply inspired and moved!