Mud

"Running from his past. Hiding from the law. Only one way out."

2013 2h 10m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

🔥

97%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 3,163🍅97%Rotten Tomatoes●76Metacritic★7.3IMDB · 198,842

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Running from his past. Hiding from the law. Only one way out.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Matthew McConaughey
Mud
Reese Witherspoon
Juniper
Tye Sheridan
Ellis
Jacob Lofland
Neckbone
Sam Shepard
Tom
Ray McKinnon
Senior
Sarah Paulson
Mary Lee
Michael Shannon
Galen

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jeff Nichols
Writers: Jeff Nichols
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jeff Nichols, shot by Adam Stone. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by David Wingo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Julie Monroe shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon and Tye Sheridan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Running from his past. Hiding from the law. Only one way out.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1935179 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jeff Nichols directs. Adam Stone behind the camera. David Wingo scores. Julie Monroe cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.3× over at the box office.
2Released 13 years ago.
3Directed by Jeff Nichols, shot by Adam Stone. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by David Wingo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Julie Monroe shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon and Tye Sheridan carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Running from his past. Hiding from the law. Only one way out.".
8IMDB entry: tt1935179 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 34 themes, including "sniper", "friendship", "bounty hunter", "snake".
10Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Adam Stone
Original score: David Wingo
Editing: Julie Monroe
Production design: Richard A. Wright
Costume design: Kari Perkins
Makeup / hair: Carla Brenholtz
Sound: Brandon Proctor
Stunt coordinator: Mickey Giacomazzi
Runtime: 130 min · 2h 10m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $10,000,000
Box office: $32,613,173
Return: 326% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Mud (2013)
Rotten Tomatoes: 97% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 76/100
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 198,842 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

15 wins & 39 nominations total

Also by

Jeff Nichols

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2018-03-24
★ 7/10
To love or not love in Arkansas along the Mississippi RELEASED IN 2012-2013 and written & directed by Jeff Nichols, “Mud” is a southern gothic crime drama taking place in Arkansas along the Mississippi River where two boys discover a fugitive named Mud (Matthew McConaughey) hiding out on an island and decide to help him evade the authorities & vigilantes that are on his trail in hope of reuniting him with his true love, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). This is a film about authentic Southern people and the code by which they live. Urbanized types usually refer to them as “rednecks.” While some of them may be “white trash,” most of them are not. They’re independent of the government, hardworking and respectful citizens, not to mention rooted in Christian morality, although not necessarily Christians. The film respects the intelligence of the viewer, leaving it to him/her to read between the lines. It’s similar to “Joe,” which was released a year later, but not as abrasively pessimistic and is overall better. In tone, it’s akin to “Undertow” (2004) and “Snow Angels” (2007). If you appreciate those flicks, you’ll like “Mud.” There are a lot of gems to mine: Ellis (Tye Sheridan) mirrors Mud as an adolescent. Will he make the same mistakes that brought Mud to his current state? The movie’s basically a rumination on the potential in both masculinity and femininity for good or bad, but the focus is more on the toxicity of some women, which is refreshing, as Hollywood tends to paint men as evil incarnate or thoroughly inept while women are usually sterling examples of eminent nobility (Why Sure!). The film also reveals the idealization of love and how “love is blind.” Just because you truly love someone in a romantic sense doesn’t mean s/he is good for you and that you should develop & maintain a relationship. I was never a fan of Witherspoon, but didn’t dislike her either. In any case, she’s quite good as the seemingly innocent-yet-toxic love interest. Bonnie Sturdivant is excellent as her teenage counterpart, May Pearl; they should’ve done more with her. THE MOVIE RUNS 2 hour 10 minutes and was shot in Arkansas (Crocketts Bluff, Eudora, Dumas and Stuttgart). ADDITIONAL CAST: Sam Shepard, Michael Shannon, Paul Sparks and Joe Don Baker. GRADE: B/B+
CinemaSerf2024-08-17
★ 7/10
In a way, there was something slightly Dickensian about this story of two small urchins who regularly zip about the Mississippi river on their boat. There must have been an hurricane recently as on one stop, they discover a boat lodged firmly in the branches of a tree. After a quick inspection, they realise it's had a recent resident and as they are about to leave they are introduced to "Mud" (Matthew McConaughey). "Ellis" (Tye Sheridan) is a bit more engaged with this enigmatic stranger than his pal "Neckbone" (a solid effort from Jacob Lofland) and agrees to bring him some food and then help him fix the boat - so long as the boys can have it after! As their relationship slowly develops, we discover that there's no shortage of baggage across the lives of the youngster whose parents are separating and who is about to lose his houseboat home and the fugitive who has a story of his own to tell of love with the gorgeous "Juniper" (Reese Witherspoon) and violence. With the temperature rising and the hunt for "Mud" closing in on the boys, things become perilous and the characters have to take a good long look at themselves as they come to terms with actions past and present that will impact on their futures. McConaughey is at his most natural here; his charisma does much of the heavy lifting but it's really Sheridan who steals the show as his curiously decent character evolves from an innocence to something altogether more mature, more aware and - thanks to "Mae Pearl" (Bonnie Sturdivant) - frustratingly hormonal, too! The setting works well offering us a look at a community that has it's own way of doing things, as does the judicious amount of dialogue allowing the story to develop effectively under it's own steam delivering a bond between these two unlikely characters that emerges in quite an unexpected, and risky, fashion. It's a little more intricate than might appear on first inspection, and is worth a couple of hours.