“Friendly old Clint Eastwood getting mixed up with the Mexican drug cartel”
There have been countless dramas to come out focusing on drug smuggling and the Mexican cartel. With various degrees of quality, the genre has followed a basic formula that’s in danger of running dry. While “The Mule” does rely on the same beats as other drug smuggling drama, the likably flawed performance from Clint Eastwood and a much lighter tone make the film stand out as very enjoyable.
“The Mule” is directed by and starring Clint Eastwood about an elderly drug smuggler.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
“The Mule” is the latest drama directed and starring Clint Eastwood as Earl Stone, a deadbeat father focusing too heavily on his horticulturist work and neglecting his family. When given the opportunity to become a driver of mysterious duffle bags through Illinois, Earl quickly realized the millions of dollars worth of cocaine in each bag; along with the crazy amount of money he earns after each trip. Can he keep his drug smuggling gig going before the cops catch on to his action?
Courtesy of IMDB.com
“The Mule” follows the same formula as any other drug smuggling drama you’ve seen before. There’s the innocent family distant from the drug life, the dangerous gangsters ready to shoot at the slightest wrong turn, and the police procedures of the search for the mysterious driver. Where “The Mule” separates himself from other films in the genre is the likably nieve, yet competent performance from Eastwood.
After nearly a decade away from being in the front of the camera, Eastwood delivers a performance that feels appropriate for his elderly age. Earl behaves like an innocent grandfather that’s difficult not to love. From his naivety to the actual job description to his difficulty of understanding how to text feature on his phone, Earl starts off as the representation of all of our innocent grandfathers. Once he quickly discovers the amount of money he’s making and how well his naivety is grazing him along this illegal adventure, he starts to use his stereotype to his advantage. While nowhere close to the legendary performances from his long-lasting career, Eastwood brings alot of heart and soul to this basic character starting out without any affection or care towards his loved ones.
Courtesy of IMDB.com
Just as Earl abandons and ignores his loving family, the supporting actors in the film are just as neglected and forgotten about. Some talented actors occupy the supporting roles and none of them leave much of an impact. The distant relationship between Earl and his daughter feels incredibly harsh with the wrong character to blame and his broken marriage with Dianne West’s character have very little justification. The closest anyone gets to leave an impact on the film is the latter half of Bradley Cooper’s conversations with Eastwood. With just two casual scenes, Cooper and Eastwood express so much bonding and chemistry with each other.
“The Mule” is a surprisingly enjoyable drama with a very charming tone of an elderly man going through this illegal journey of drug smuggling. As strong as leading character Earl is, the remaining cast leaves very little of an impact. The performances are not the issue, rather the material given is very centric on Eastwood’s Earl rather than giving any meat to the rest of the cast. While nothing to ride home about or rush out to see in theaters, “The Mule” makes for a strong rental that will keep your interest from beginning to end.