Prior Viewings: 1
The first time I saw this one, it mostly missed me. I don't know if that's because I fell victim to my own expectations or if I was simply hoping for a snappier story, but, either way, it didn't make much of an impression. Now that I've given it a second chance, though, I think I've fallen in love with it.
Mud might be quiet and tentative, but it also plays out with such subtle suspense and ambiguous character motivation that every single scene thoroughly gripped me this time around. And because Jeff Nichols examines his coming-of-age themes and ideas through subdued interactions, isolated settings, uneasy atmospheres, and beautiful imagery, it results in a take on love and its complexities that's as poignant and thrilling as it is heartfelt.
If you, like me, didn't have much of a reaction to this one after a single viewing, I'd highly recommend a rewatch. Once I knew what tone and pace to anticipate, I couldn't get enough of the way everything gradually unfolded, and felt as though I could've watched these characters in this setting forever.
Grade: A+
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