Indie hit 'Mud' makes a splash
The moral ambiguity and complex characters of Mud make for a powerful Deep South drama, writes James Mottram
IN A SUMMER SWAMPED with superheroes, sea monsters and zombie plagues, it's heartening that a film such as Mud even exists. A low-key melodrama that draws more from Mark Twain than Marvel Comics, it is one of the breakout indie hits in the US this year.
It marks the third film for Arkansas-born writer-director Jeff Nichols, who followed his 2007 debut Shotgun Stories with the sublime award winner Take Shelter (2011), which starred Michael Shannon as a blue-collar family man haunted by visions of the apocalypse.
"I would do anything for Jeff," says Shannon, who also featured in Shotgun Stories and has a cameo in Mud - proof of the loyalty that Nichols inspires.
Mud is an altogether different beast. The drama is set on the banks of the Mississippi River, showing influences from Days of Heaven director Terrence Malick's appreciation of nature.
A genial 34-year-old, Nichols seems delighted to be mentioned in the same breath as Malick. " Badlands [Malick's 1973 debut] is as near perfect as you can get," Nichols says.
That Nichols sought out Tye Sheridan, the 16-year-old actor who rose to prominence in Malick's 2011 Palme d'Or winner The Tree of Life, not to mention its producer Sarah Green, shows just how much he shares Malick's sensibilities.