Witherspoon 's subsequent films signaled a departure from the love-triangle theme . In September 2011 , a year after beginning work on '' This Means War '' , she filmed a small role in Jeff Nichols 's coming-of-age drama '' Mud '' in Arkansas , playing Juniper , the former girlfriend of a fugitive ( Matthew McConaughey ) , who enlists two local boys to help him evade capture and rekindle his romance with her . '' Mud '' premiered in May 2012 in competition for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival , but did not win . Following its American debut at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19 , 2013 , the film had a limited release in select North American theaters on April 26 , 2013
Cannes Film Festival
2012 Cannes Film Festival
Reese Witherspoon