'Mud' Proof the Sexiest Man in America Really Can Act

Two 14-year-old rural Arkansas boys, Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), visit an island on the Mississippi, where they plan to claim a boat, lodged high in a tree, as their secret hideout. They encounter a mysterious, charismatic stranger, Mud (Matthew McConaughey, who tells them he's there to claim his true love, Jupiter (Reese Witherspoon). The boys are sympathetic and helpful. But the course of true love never runs true, and things are not as simple as they seem. 

In "Mud," an evocative highlight of the American movie year so far, Matthew McConaughey slips easily into the role of a haunted, lovelorn killer on the lam, hiding out on an island in the Mississippi River along the Arkansas Delta region. Two generations ago, McConaughey's role might've been taken by Paul Newman or the Steve McQueen of "Baby the Rain Must Fall." That's formidable company. Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

Two teenage boys in Arkansas discover a boat high up in a tree on an island in the Mississippi River. That's where "Mud" kicks off; from there it tells a stirring coming of age tale, deftly mixing drama, humor and adventure as well as any movie since "Stand by Me." Adam Graham, The Detroit News

Nichols' writing and direction impress, as well. His quietly observant script captures that confused mixture of chivalry and lust that defines 14-year-old boys; his smoothly moving camera catches dreamlike images — a boat perched in a tree, a ghostly white shirt waving its arms underwater. Steve Whitty, the Star Ledger

As the slippery central figure of Jeff Nichols’s richly observed coming-of-age fable, McConaughey injects a note of danger into a bayou noir story of youthful ad­ven­ture that manages to be lyrical and sobering at the same time. Aided by extraordinarily assured performances from young co-stars Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland, McConaughey defines his own version of a familiar Southern character -- the frightening Other who can strangle as easily as save -- as an enduring archetype rather than irritating stereotype. Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

The writer and director, Jeff Nichols (“Take Shelter”), brings to the film Twain’s understanding of a boy’s best qualities—a love of adventure, instinctive loyalty, and generous chivalry. Nichols has a strong feeling for the tactility of natural elements—water, wood, terrain, weather. David Denby, The New Yorker 

"Mud" is rated PG-13 and runs 130 minutes. It's playing at Beechwood Stadium Cinemas 11 and Carmike Cinemas 12.

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