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Clint Eastwood’s film “The Mule,” in which he also directs and stars, is based on the incredible true story of an octogenarian who became an unlikely drug mule for a major Mexican drug cartel, transporting staggering amounts of cocaine. A distinguished cast includes Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, Dianne Wiest, and Andy Garcia in this critically acclaimed film. Along the way, it deals with several of Eastwood’s favorite themes from throughout his legendary career. These include regret, forgiveness, and the unavoidable reality of mortality.
On paper, everything appears to be in place for a rich and compelling adult drama, at least on the surface. So what is it about the outcome that feels so elusive and unsatisfying? In his usual elegant and efficient manner, Eastwood directs the film. Although it is based on a New York Times Magazine article by Sam Dolnick, the script by Nick Schenk (“Gran Torino”) does not provide much material for the film’s talented actors to work with—and this is true of the icon at the film’s center as well.
Despite the fact that he is the film’s driving force, Eastwood’s Earl Stone remains a frustrating enigma (no pun intended). What makes him believe that he is so naive at the outset that he has no idea what he is agreeing to transport in the back of his pickup truck? Or is he simply uninterested? After several runs, there comes a point when he feels confident enough to take a peek inside one of the duffel bags that have been packed alongside his golf clubs. He reacts in astonishment, and that’s the end of that conversation. An ethical investigation could have given the story the necessary weight it lacked.
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A flashback to 2005 shows Earl as a smooth, cunning operator, flirting with adoring, elderly ladies at a daylily convention where he is treated as if he is a rock star by the adoring, elderly ladies. He’d also prefer not to attend the second wedding of his daughter, Iris (played by Alison Eastwood, Eastwood’s real-life daughter), because he’d rather party with strangers at a hotel bar. So it’s possible that Earl is simply exceptionally adept at compartmentalizing. Even an actor of Eastwood’s subtlety and stature, however, has difficulty conveying the heart of this complex man’s character.
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A stranger at his granddaughter’s bridal brunch hands him a phone number shortly after meeting him and suggests that he could make a good amount of money simply by driving. Twelve years later, having lost his Illinois flower farm to foreclosure and struggling to stay afloat financially, Earl says yes. (The connection occurs far too quickly and appears to be fabricated.)
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DEA Agent Colin Bates is assigned to stop the flow of drugs into the Chicago area in a parallel storyline that converges languidly with Earl’s. Cooper has even less to work with in this role than he does as Earl’s character. (Fishburne portrays his superior.) It would appear impossible to remove Cooper’s charisma from the film, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Eastwood’s 2014 drama “American Sniper,” but “The Mule” manages to pull off the difficult task. Cooper’s Agent Bates is a cool, competent professional who works with Michael Pena as his similarly bland partner. Cooper’s Agent Bates’ character development is limited to his ability to remain cool and competent under pressure.
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The actual back-and-forths between El Paso, Texas, and the generic Midwestern motel where Earl delivers the goods provide some aesthetically pleasing moments in and of themselves. A section of the route through White Sands National Monument is particularly impressive. (Yves Belanger, a frequent collaborator of Jean-Marc Vallee’s, is the cinematographer for the film.) And as the cargo, stakes, and danger increase with each trip, the tension builds incrementally on the previous one. Nonetheless, Earl’s journeys reveal his tendency to do things his own way, whether it’s stopping to eat pulled-pork barbecue sandwiches for lunch with his overbearing handlers in tow or staying overnight at a cheap motel and enjoying the company of a couple of ladies available for hire.
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He’s a narcissist all the way to the end, having distanced himself from his family for decades in order to pursue a life of work and play on the road. Consequently, when he has a sudden change of heart and finally says all the right things to the people who have been disappointed in him for so long—including his bitter ex-wife (Wiest) and his more optimistic granddaughter (Taissa Farmiga)—the moment doesn’t quite achieve the emotional resonance that Eastwood is aiming for, despite his best efforts on his part. He is certainly capable of conveying intense emotion with a single, pained glance, but he is limited in his abilities in this situation. The film “The Mule” repeatedly emphasizes and hammers home its message about the importance of family, but it ultimately falls short of its intended effect. Also painfully on-the-nose are the musical selections, which include songs such as “On the Road Again” and “I’ve Been Everywhere.”
Another unpleasant and creeping sensation that permeates the film is that of xenophobia. Given the film’s one-dimensional and tone-deaf portrayal of the minorities Earl comes into contact with, it’s possible that “The Mule” could be used as an argument in support of President Trump’s proposed border barrier. As a casual racist, he refers to black people and Hispanic people in a good-naturedly antiquated manner. However, all of the Mexicans for whom he works are frightening, gun-toting criminals who want to bring drugs into our country, and many of them are depicted in stereotypical fashion, with shaved heads and neck tats, as is the case in the film. In Earl, a hardworking Korean War veteran who has watched the American Dream crumble beneath his feet, they are taking advantage of his situation.
Earl is the proverbial “Forgotten Man” in Trump’s world: He is an elderly white man who lives in the heartland of the United States. He enjoys country music and longs for a simpler time before the Internet made everything more complicated. Even though he’s in your local movie theater today, you could easily imagine him on Fox News the next day.
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