Matthew McConaughey stars in the 2012 film. “Mud.” (Courtesy of Roadside Attractions)

If Jeff Nichols were to make his latest movie “Mud” into a recipe, the result would be a dish equal parts suspense, drama and action with a strong dash of a classic coming-of-age tale that results in one incredibly delectable cinematic offering.

“Mud” follows two teenage boys – Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) – as they find, and eventually help, the story’s title character Mud (Matthew McConaughey) who is on the run from the law after being suspected for murder.
Sheridan and Lofland are natural in Nichols’ Southern world.

With thick-as-molasses accents and an acclamation to the physical demands for their role, the two teenagers hold their own with the movie’s heavyweight cast that includes the like of Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Paulson, and Nichols’ own lucky charm, Michael Shannon.

While Lofland and Sheridan are certainly standouts, the real driving performance comes from Matthew McConaughey.

Nichols claims that he wrote the part exclusively for the actor and the director’s wishful thinking paid off as McConaughey fits the part’s bill to a T.

Whatever you may like to call it, the actor is certainly experiencing a career change.

Reese Witherspoon and Michael Shannon both deliver notable performance too.

The latter more than the former.

Nichols’ carefully written screenplay flows in and out of its competing narratives with the ease of a Southern belle working the room at a debutante ball. “Mud” could have easily been sliced and diced into an incoherent, cliché-riddled mess but Nichols’ artistic attention to detail results in a polished, well-paced film certain to become an American coming-of-age classic.

There’s no denying that “Mud’s” story is rooted in the works of Mark Twain as the story’s riverside setting is more than just an homage.

However, much like Twain’s greatest works, “Mud” captures the emotions connected to adolescence and treats them with the respect and dignity that they deserve.

In Nichols’ world, age is but a number.

“Mud” opens in theatres today.