I was pleasantly surprised to find this summer that Mud and The Way Way Back both offer up coming of age stories centered around strong young male actors with a distinct point of view as they are shown an opening into how the adult world actually functions. What’s truly interesting is they are dramatically different films built within the same story structure. Both films focus on a 14 year old over the course of a summer searching for something to call their own within the confines of a series of events that are less than ideal. Both find a mentor in men who are at first strangers and quickly become confidants. The structure is so true to form that both movies contain the obligatory scene that offers up a ‘first kiss’ attempt with an ‘older girl/first crush’ that is met with knee jerk rejection. This is where the similarities and formula ceases. What happens next are two divergent films.
"Mud" stars Matthew McConaughey as the title character and event though the film isn’t about him per se, it is the strongest performance Matthew McConaughey has given in a decade, raw and lacking any sense of irony. The story centers on the young boys who befriend him, marvelously played by Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland. It is a film that possesses a wonderfully honest script with very little in the way of grandiose philosophy. Instead the wisdom (and ignorance) is discovered by the experiences these boys gain through their friendship and involvement with Mud, a wanted man hiding out on an island where he is discovered by these young boys. Director Jeff Nichols creates a tone and pace for the film that mirrors the rural Southern backdrop perfectly. I appreciated that the movie doesn’t attempt to redeem the flawed adults. Instead it focuses in on the emotional reconciliation that the two young leads must make as a key part of leaving childhood behind.
The Way Way Back lacks the emotional depth of Mud, but does possess a great deal of heart. It is also the personification of summers past. In this film the story centers on Duncan, effectively played by Liam James. Duncan is the reluctant part of a summer vacation with his mother (Toni Collette playing against type) and her boyfriend (a relentlessly despicable Steve Carell). James acting gives the viewer real insight to the misery that is evident from the opening frame of the film until he encounters and befriends Owen, played by the under-appreciated and ridiculously funny Sam Rockwell. Owen offers not only a much needed mentor for Duncan, but the serves as the centerpiece for the bulk of the movie’s broad comedy. The script drips with nostalgia and spends a good deal of time laughing at it. Back at the summer house, Duncan’s isolation plays out as he observes the desperation of his mother, the belligerence of her boyfriend and the utter chaos that is their oft drunk neighbor, embodied by Allison Janney who once again reveals the depth of her talents and range of emotions she can portray with the turn of a phrase. The Way Way Back is an uneven film and its heavier moments sometimes feel labored or completely out of left field, but terrific dialogue and really wonderful performances from the cast make this film worth the price of admission. What it lacks in balance it more than makes up for in sincere laughs.
Both films deserve credit for creating the atmosphere and emotions of that important childhood rite of passage. In a time where summers are driven by blockbusters, it is nice to have the chance to revisit imagery of summers that held innocence and discovery. It is even more fascinating to watch them now as the adult on the other side of that discovery.
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