His name is Mud

Jeff Nichols's 2012 Mud really ought to find a wider audience, as it's a tremendously appealing and engaging film that's suitable for all ages - basic plot is two Arkansas boys exploring the river and its islands meet up with a homeless man who asks them to do him a favor and get some food (he promises a boat and, later, a pistol in return for their help), they soon learn that the eponymous Mud is wanted on a murder charge - and that there's a team of bounty hunters on the lookout for him. The plot kicks into gear very quickly, and Nichols keeps it moving and keeps the tension high without resort to gimmicks, pyrotechnics, violence (up to a point), or too much melodrama (there's some - but hey it's just an entertaining movie - not a movie with a message). The acting is strong all across the board - it will remind you of Stand By Me (boys bonding over a secret discovery) or to an extent Beasts of the Southern Wild (parent-child relationship, impoverished gulf community) though without the fantasy and extravagant narration. +2 hours but moves along well and doesn't feel drawn out; at times the dialect is very difficult, at least for New Englanders, to parse, but you don't need to comprehend every word to follow the story line. Some very beautiful outdoor photography - both of the waterways and of the tacky gulf town where some of the action takes place. All around good film and in a just world it would be out there fighting Gravity at the box office but will have to settle for a lot of rentals and downloads.