Jeff Nichols‘ Mud, which will have its second market screening tomorrow (and to which press persons are excluded), “draws you in almost immediately with the atmospheric landscapes,” says a guy who saw it yesterday afternoon at the Oympia. “It begins with Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), both 14, heading out on the river to an island where a flood has lodged a boat in a tree. They decide to take it until Mud (Matthew McConaughey), a drifter on the run from the law, shows up and claims it as his own.”

And then he proceeds to recount the whole plot so let’s stop here. But “it’s very much a character-rich drama,” he says. “A coming-of-age story for Ellis and redemption story for McConaughey’s. Nichols’ draws you in with the character development. I was immersed in the performances, particularly McConaguhey’s.” The guy didn’t mention Reese Witherspoon‘s work, but his synopsis suggests that her character, Juniper, is flawed and somewhat trashy, which is a welcome change of pace for Ms. Goody Two-Shoes.