Our take
If you thought Dallas Buyers Club, Interstellar, or True Detective was already the pinnacle of what Mathew McConaughey could do, wait until you see this film! Created by writer-director Jeff Nichols and set in the American South, Mud is a beautiful tale of love, loss, and personal growth. Two children, Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), come across the elusive Mud (who is played by McConaughey), a man on the run wanted for murder. Initially scared of his mysterious character, the kids end up wanting to help and protect him from his those pursuing him. Ultimately a story of love, the film deals with a very human crisis seen through the eyes of children, drawing from American adventure tales and the humidity of the South. Mud is exciting, uneasy, sad, and quite beautiful. All at once.
What it won
Venice
1 win
The story
Two teenage boys find a fugitive hiding out on an island in the Mississippi River and help him reunite with his lover and escape an avenging family and their armed posse.
Elsewhere
"Nichols has a strong feeling for the tactility of natural elements-water, wood, terrain, weather."
— David Denby
"In its energy and nuance, Mud seems like the kind of film Hollywood would've made in the Seventies, and would've continued to do if not for the advent of market-conscious filmmaking."
— Violet Lucca
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
The Staff is the editorial team at A Good Movie to Watch, contributing reviews, recommendations, and streaming guides across film and television. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, we track over 100 streaming services in the US. Founded in 2014 by Bilal Zouheir, the team is built around human curation rather than algorithmic recommendations.
This film surprised me. I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would. McConaughey really nails it in this one! Never was a big fan of his, but he knocks it out of the park!