Mud

Mud: I don't traffic in the truth too often, but... I did love her. I do... love her.
Ellis: She loves you, too. She said it.
Mud: Yeah, I just made mistakes. Heck, we both did. You know this, it's a hard life to keep up with, you can't blame her for getting tired of trying.
Ellis: My dad says you can't count on women loving you. He said you can't trust them.
Mud: [Slowly shaking his head] That's not true. You're a good man, Ellis. You meet a girl half as good as you, you're going to be all right.
Ellis: [Chuckles] You're a good man, too, Mud.
Mud: No. No I ain't Ellis. 

True love: Is it just a myth? The childish fantasy of a naive dreamer? Or can it really happen? This movie took an unexpected turn for me when the central theme turned out to be the "power of love," if you will. Ellis believes in love so much that he goes to great lengths to defend it by helping Mud get back together with Juniper. But as he witnesses one failed relationship after another, has every reason to be bitter, disillusioned, and untrusting.  There is always hope for true, unconditional love, no matter how many times it fails miserably.