THE MULE
(directed by Clint Eastwood, 2018)
**** (out of 5)
.
> Oh man!
. No matter what you think about Clint Eastwood’s surprisingly conservative views (which seem somewhat anachronistic considering the progressive themes he deals with in movies like MILLION DOLLAR BABY), the old man can make movies!
. By my count, this is feature number 37 for the gifted director, and even at 89, Clint does not appear ready to slow down. And this is a great thing for film lovers, as long as he continues to make films as good as this! It’s been eight years, by my reckoning, since he has made a film this good. (His previous film THE 15:17 TO PARIS was roundly panned as an absolute dud, but his following film RICHARD JEWELL drew some praise.)
. Here, Clint plays his usual crusty old curmudgeon navigating the modern world like a Model T on the information superhighway. In this incarnation of the familiar character, Eastwood is a man so devoted to his flower business that he completely neglects his wife (Dianne Wiest) and family. He recognizes himself as a failure of a family man, so he retreats to the well-ordered world of his business, which insulates him from having to confront these failures. Then, everything goes belly up. He loses the flower business and returns home to a foreclosed house. Then, quite by accident, he meets a man involved in drug smuggling, who casually suggests that a man like Clint can make a shitload of cash running contraband across the Mexican border. His advanced age would be great cover. The cops would never suspect a cranky old coot like Clint of smuggling! With no other options he can see, he gives it a try.
. The gang he deals with are scary indeed, but they take a shine to him as he makes run after run after run. Andy Garcia is the kingpin, and as long as he’s in charge, Clint should be okay. But what happens when there is a coup in the organization, and someone even more ruthless takes over? Eventually, Clint is dogged by both his clandestine employer, who wants him dead, and three narcotics officers, played by Michael Peña and Laurence Fishburne, who are little more than window dressing, and not given much to do, and Bradley Cooper, the new guy trying to make a name for himself in the department. Cooper has no idea that the fugitive he seeks is right under his nose.
. It’s a pretty great set-up really, and Clint delivers both as director and actor. There is a fragile vulnerability in his performance that we rarely, if ever, see in Eastwood. His age is his nemesis, and it subjects him to constant challenges. The result is a breathless, scary drama that is replete with blessings of surprisingly gentle, character-driven humor, and Clint is really very funny here.
– Perhaps no one will call this one of Eastwood’s great films- but it certainly is one of his great entertainments.
*
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