The Mudge Boy
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Movie Reviews of The Mudge Boy
Movie Review: Amazing Work
Summary: 5 Stars
A story of fourteen year old teen living with father-farmer worshipping his deceased mother and a chicken used alike sexual fetish. This summer boy's sexuality was awaken by a bit older farm-hand himself confused of his sexual desires.
Surprising explicit, amazing work had been screen with free TV at midnight and advertising pauses near excided movie-segments they were placed among, which itself had indicated a this film mark by a reviewer.
Movie Review: Lovely acting and settings; universal issues
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a movie of merit. It's a painful coming-of-age story about a boy whose love and sorrow for his lost mother is expressed in silent choices: a chicken for a pet, a fur coat worn under summer bedclothes, a longing for friendship, kisses, oblivion. Emile Hirsh and Richard Jenkins and Tom Guiry deliver affecting, nuanced performances. Worth watching if you can bear it.Movie Review: Introduce youself to Emile Hirsch!!
Summary: 5 Stars
You most likely never heard of him before but after you see " Into the Wild " you will! The Mudge Boy is an entertaining introduction to young Mr. Hirsch with a very compelling performance as a somewhat disfunctional boy in a rural setting with a very unconventional storyline but a movie that you will be glad you saw. The ending in quite a mindblower.Movie Review: Amazing Movie!!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Story Is Extremely Symbolic, In Quite An Unusual Way, But Overall I Thought This Film Was Fantastic! A Must See (Especially For The Gay Community - Goes With The Plotline). At First I Thought It Was A Little Weird But Then I Started To Understand It More And Eventually Ended Up In Tears =[. Great Movie Though!Movie Review: I Know This Mudge Is True
Summary: 4 Stars
In viewing the difficult-to-stomach "Mudge Boy", I was reminded of one of acclaimed author Kurt Vonnegut's Rules for Writing Fiction: "Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them." Well, writer/director Michael Burke must have had that rule etched into the arm of his director's chair, since this movie's adorable and engaging main character has a most difficult time of it, to say the least. (And I'm not even talking about the Duncan Mudge character, by the way - I'm talking about the chicken!)
But the guileless and grief-stricken Duncan doesn't have it too easy either; struggling with the recent loss of his mother in a rugged and rural environment that seemingly has no place for him, and a reticent father who just wishes the boy would "grieve like a normal person" (i.e. start bonding more with the local kids instead of with mom's pet chickens, and stay out of her fur coats and wedding dresses while you're at it, Dunc).
"People do weird stuff sometimes," says Duncan to his only friend (and possible love interest) Perry, and this line could work very well as a thesis statement for many of its characters actions. 'Cause even though Duncan (played with striking bravery and purity by Emile Hirsh) is known as the local weirdo, the randy farmhand Perry (played with much swagger and bravado by Tommy Guiry, who up till this film had taken more docile and sensitive roles, so really is impressive with the level of latent menace he brings to the role) doesn't exactly keep to the straight and narrow himself.
Early on in the film, in providing two chickens for father Edgar's helper friend, Duncan says to him (about the chickens): "These are good layers." Which also struck me as being a good comment about the film itself, since this mood piece of pain and redemption is all about layers - and not only the chicken kind.
There are the competing layers of guilt and lust in the lonely rural young men who are so desperate to connect that they flirt dangerously with the lines of taboo within their machismo posturing (or expectations thereof). There are the layers of love and scorn in the brilliant Richard Jenkins as Edgar, not approving of his sons choices but not withholding love just because he holds back his approval. There are the layers of connection and betrayal, especially in the brutal and infamous Mudge packing scene, where Perry defiles both Duncan's sacred place and his physical space as well.
Then there are the visual layers, the spectacular cinematography with its carefully composed shots consisting of frames within frames - shots through doors and windows, and wide, layered shots with natural motion, all nestled comfortably beneath a plaintive and spare mostly-acoustic soundtrack.
There is almost a pugilistic poignancy to the "Mudge Boy" - a poetry without words that hits you hard in the heart and in the gut. And even though there's so much malice in the film, there is at least the attempt at a tender - if not completely happy - ending. But, for this viewer, that attempted uplift came just a little too late (and after a few too many shocking moments) to be truly soothing - it's kind of like a band-aid applied to a gushing wound.
Still, there is at least some degree of catharsis and understanding amidst the bloodletting. In the director's commentary track, he spells out what the game plan was for himself and his DP: "Let's be bold in our choices. Let's just go for it. Let's not go halfway. Let's make strong decisions and take risks and stand behind them." And to that I feel they succeeded and remained very true to their vision. And in "The Mudge Boy," we get an uncomfortable up close look at how American rural men sometimes have to subvert their sensitive side in order to thrive, and how those who cannot manage this subversion must somehow struggle to survive.
Not recommended for those who like feelgood films, lots of plot, and snappy dialog. Highly recommended to those who enjoy long, visually meditational and lyrical scenes of life at its most harrowing, where freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose.