Whenever a film like “Mud” comes along, it reminds me why I love the movies. Containing a captivating performance by Matthew McConaughey, who, in recent years, has finally won me over as a “serious” actor; it also has some excellent landscape cinematography, a powerful message, and, finally, one of the best coming-of-age stories to come along in a long time. “Mud” is the best film I have seen so far in 2013.

The director of “Mud,” Jeff Nichols, grew up in the South; in the state of Arkansas. It is easy to see this through his work, as his films are set almost exclusively in the South or in the countryside, dealing with issues that these people must be all-too-familiar with. The story of “Mud” is seen through the eyes of a 14-year-old boy named Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and his friend Neckbone (Jacob Lofland). Growing up in a small town in Arkansas, they amuse themselves in just about the only way they know how: by exploring the vast countryside alongside the Mississippi River on their motorboat. After landing on an island one day to find a large boat that had been lodged in a tree; they meet a long-haired, disheveled stranger named Mud (Matthew McConaughey). Mud had been living on the island for some time, never leaving to go back to town. We soon learn why: he is wanted by the police for murder. Despite this, the two boys are drawn in by Mud and his easy-going personality, and are soon willing to do anything for him.

“Mud” is part buddy-film, part coming-of-age tale, part crime-drama, part love-story. But Nichols never chooses to settle on just one genre; instead he takes the best parts of each, and like a talented seamstress, weaves them together into one multi-faceted quilt. If you were to classify it best, think of the Rob Reiner classic “Stand By Me,” but with the addition of the mysterious stranger so often seen in classic westerns. And instead of looking for a body, the boys here are looking to help this man that they have come to admire. At only 16 years old, the two young actors shine in their respective roles. Though relatively unknown actors, they both perfectly express that deeply felt teenage angst that we all go through at that age just before adolescence.

And the story of Mud could be a movie completely on its own. McConaughey gives the best role of his career, with a performance that is Oscar-worthy. With his mild-mannered, calm Southern accent, confident demeanor, and yet also possessing a few eccentricities; it is difficult to picture this as the same guy who starred in “The Wedding Planner.” Mud is at one point described in the film as a “bad-ass.” But he is really a hopeless romantic, since his motivations are almost exclusively due to Juniper, his long-time love (Reese Witherspoon), who may or may not reciprocate his feelings.

With the calming background soundtrack of mostly light guitar, which could be heard in your typical Southern film, and with the soft natural lighting seen only in the empty countryside, “Mud” deceives the audience once again. Just when you think it’s going to be “A River Runs Through It,” it instead becomes “True Grit.” And some of the camera shots are meticulously perfect, such as the opening overhead sweep across a downward flowing Mississippi river, which helps to set the tone of the film.

But, in the end, it is really the nuances between Mud, Ellis, and Neckbone that makes “Mud” a great film. Mud himself could be a future version of the boys, if they do not learn to move on from the past and accept the changes that come with growing up. But it is the admiration for Mud that, ironically, helps to propel Ellis and Neckbone into maturity. Regardless of how we look at it, it is the people in our lives that help to shape our future, for the better or for the worse.

“Mud” was a very enjoyable experience. Almost everyone will get something out of it, since it exists in that middle ground between gritty and light-hearted, never straying too far in either direction. It really is hard not to like.