The Mule

This review may contain spoilers!

I can't honestly help but wonder if Clint Eastwood isn't showing his age at this point. I would give The Mule a 6/10.

The Mule follows Earl Stone, a chronically self-centred ex-botanist who takes up an offer to run drugs for a Mexican cartel in order to make ends meet. This is a film that puts everything it has into the second and third acts, relying heavily upon moments of tension and the charm of placing the protagonist in surprising circumstances. Watching Earl negotiate the members of the Cartel, even winning them over is a strength of the feature; you get a strange code of honour that emerges from this criminal underworld which becomes infinitely more interesting to watch. As Earl comes to realise the nature of what he's transporting the degree of control he has over his circumstances begins to slip away; at first it's just a single highway officer on patrol he has to escape from but by the end of the film he's trying to evade the DEA while facing extensive threats from the very cartel he's working for. I was skeptical whether the sub-plot around Earl reconnecting with his family would pay off but that part of the third act in which he drives back to spend time with his ex-wife before she dies of cancer is a really defining moment. The soundtrack for the film is ever present and quite a delightful success; watching Eastwood's Earl sing tunes on the radio softly is very likeable, but seeing the cartel members who've bugged his car singing too is a real winner.

Clint Eastwood, who played Earl Stone, does a really admirable job as the film's protagonist and the quality of what you're watching tends to fall squarely on his shoulders; Eastwood does a lot to make his character as subtly charming as possible, whether this be through mild-mannered humour or oddly placed scenes of elderly advice. Bradley Cooper, who played Agent Colin Bates, is a very driven role who puts all he has into his work; I like the way Cooper and Eastwood play off each other and even manage to mirror one another in a protagonist/antagonist capacity. Ignacio Serricchio, who played Julio, is this very aggressive figure looking to prove himself when first he is introduced; what I really enjoy is how we get to see the dimensions to this character and even the bond that begins to develop between him and Eastwood's role.

However, the best performance came from Andy Garcia, who played Laton. I really enjoyed watching this very relaxed, composed tycoon of a cartel head engaging himself so firmly in leisure while giving directives to his underlings. Garcia plays this character in a way that makes you think he isn't so serious but then he really flips your expectations and lays his power down on an individual, such as Serricchio's role. The benevolent criminal persona Garcia builds is really fascinating and the way he leads and almost orchestrates the party scene is well done.

The Mule is a frustrating film to watch because it's very aware of what parts of itself are the most exciting and only focuses on playing to those. The first act is very much a write off because you get a very shallow introduction to the main protagonist and his family issues seem dull or insignificant at first. I half-expected that the initial introduction to the cartels might provoke some form of excitement but instead we get a lot of empty sequences with Earl driving and a significant amount of inaction in the story. Even when the film does pick up and start to get good you never really feel like Earl is in any true danger because he never suffers meaningful consequences for his actions; even when the film ends his life in prison almost seems blissful. The cinematography for the film felt lazy to watch with several monotonous shots of driving (many of these repeated); the only time the camera seemed to come awake was the party scene to track almost creepily up and down scantily-clad female extras. The editing is about as slow as the main protagonist, this is the sort of film that relies purely on the narrative to move things along and even that didn't do much for it.

Alison Eastwood and Taissa Farmiga, who played Iris and Ginny respectively, are supposed to be these strong links to Eastwood's role but it's hard to feel a genuine connection; I'm most surprised that Alison Eastwood isn't capable of showing any onscreen chemistry with her father. Dianne Wiest, who played Mary, really gives quite a stilted performance of a scorned ex-wife; Wiest and Eastwood don't really feel like they have much of a meaningful onscreen relationship which takes away from some significant scenes. Laurence Fishburne, who played Special Agent In Charge, has to be one of the most stereotypical characters this film cooks up; Fishburne deadpans some absolutely cringeworthy one-liners throughout the film. Michael Pena, who played Agent Trevino, takes a complete backside for the entire film to Cooper's character; Pena has nothing to work with in a stoic, expressionless role. Eugene Cordero, who played Luis Rocha, isn't really believable as the snitch of the plot; this is because Cordero doesn't exude the persona of a criminal at any given moment of the film and is instead weirdly used for comedic relief.