Mud -- from the director of Take Shelter

refocusedmedia

refocusedmedia

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I swear I made a thread for this already, but i cant find it. This is masterful American filmmaking at its finest, just like Take Shelter was. An excellent coming-of-age drama wrapped in a tense thriller. Watch the trailer if you dare to potentially be spoiled, but do yourself a favor and seek this one out.

 
Far and away the best film i've seen this year. Jeff Nichols is one of the greatest filmmakers in the world right now, perhaps the greatest in America. Very bold words, I know. But between this brilliant film and Take Shelter, I can't think of any other American that has produced two films of such quality in the past decade.
 
This film was very entertaining. I wouldn't call it brilliant, but I've only seen it once. It was a few months ago, so at this point it's hard for me to comment. I guess what didn't resonate with me was the way the boy's relationships with Mud and his parents affected his relationship with the girl from school. It was like, Mud's dedication to Reese Whitherspoon helped the boy believe in love, even though his parents were getting divorced. This was OK, but in my (distant) memory of the film, there wasn't a sense of closure with this thematic thread, because of how things end with the girl from school. Was there any catharsis there? My memory is terrible.
 
My favorite movie this year. Just superb. Script,acting ensemble, location, editing, cinematography. A filmmakers film.
 
Drew Ott said:
This film was very entertaining. I wouldn't call it brilliant, but I've only seen it once. It was a few months ago, so at this point it's hard for me to comment. I guess what didn't resonate with me was the way the boy's relationships with Mud and his parents affected his relationship with the girl from school. It was like, Mud's dedication to Reese Whitherspoon helped the boy believe in love, even though his parents were getting divorced. This was OK, but in my (distant) memory of the film, there wasn't a sense of closure with this thematic thread, because of how things end with the girl from school. Was there any catharsis there? My memory is terrible.
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I don't think Nichols meant for the ending to be cut-and-dried, and it certainly didn't play that way. I think the point was the idea of being a kid and having to deal with adult s--t. Even if your parents never split up (mine didn't), it still resonates if you've ever seen them fight as a child and you didn't know how to deal with it. I kind of saw it as the boy taking a little step toward becoming a man and realizing that the world isn't black-and-white, and love isn't something that always works.

-EMB
 
Regarding the OP, I agree. When I think of Nichols, I think of him as a distinctly American director, and he's one of the best at what he does: telling honest American stories of the heartland. Family seems to be his overarching theme so far, and I was so glad that after Take Shelter, when he had the opportunity to "move on" to the studio films, he chose to stay close to his roots for at least one more film with Mud.

-EMB
 
Eric Boellner said:
Regarding the OP, I agree. When I think of Nichols, I think of him as a distinctly American director, and he's one of the best at what he does: telling honest American stories of the heartland. Family seems to be his overarching theme so far, and I was so glad that after Take Shelter, when he had the opportunity to "move on" to the studio films, he chose to stay close to his roots for at least one more film with Mud.

-EMB
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It'll be very interesting to see what he does with his next film. It's based on the true story of the young teenager that built a nuclear reactor in his parents garage. I have no doubt he'll bring out a lot of fascinating elements to the story, and we can of course expect some of the realest relationships out there.
 
I have to admit, I'm surprised to see numerous people calling Take Shelter "masterful." It's good low-budget film, and somewhat off the beaten path, but it fell pretty flat for me. Shannon's acting was very good, but ultimately, the story didn't make any sense. I guess you're supposed to fill in the blanks as to what's going on? The ending didn't shed any light.

I liked it, and I really liked what it got very right -- I grew up in northern Ohio along the lake and that's exactly what it's like. But I don't see it as "masterful."
 
David Jimerson said:
I liked it, and I really liked what it got very right -- I grew up in northern Ohio along the lake and that's exactly what it's like.
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Having grown up in northern Ohio and southeast Michigan as well, I think this is one of my favorite parts about Nichols' films: the authenticity. Even his first outing, Shotgun Stories, reminds me of places I'd been and people I knew growing up (even though it's set in Arkansas).

-EMB
 
I just happened to catch Shotgun Stories on Netflix... loved it. Take Shelter is still my favorite of his, but Shotgun Stories and Mud were also fantastic.
 
David Jimerson said:
I have to admit, I'm surprised to see numerous people calling Take Shelter "masterful." It's good low-budget film, and somewhat off the beaten path, but it fell pretty flat for me. Shannon's acting was very good, but ultimately, the story didn't make any sense. I guess you're supposed to fill in the blanks as to what's going on? The ending didn't shed any light.

I liked it, and I really liked what it got very right -- I grew up in northern Ohio along the lake and that's exactly what it's like. But I don't see it as "masterful."
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I thought it was far and away one of the two best films of that year (Drive being the other). Shannon's performance is one of the best i've seen in ages.
 
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