Clint Eastwood is an actor who is woven into the DNA of film. With his iconic characters he has immortalized himself and behind the camera he has shown what he is capable of. He is now 88, but he is still making films. In this latest film, in which he also plays the lead, he delves into the world of Mexican drug cartels.
In The Mule, Eastwood plays gardener Earl Stone, who has devoted his entire life to his profession. His plants and flowers were even more important to him than his family. As a result, the relationship with his ex-wife and daughter is anything but good and when he no longer makes enough to pay his bills, he loses his house and he cannot turn to them for help. However, he comes into contact with someone who offers him the opportunity to make money easily. He only needs to transport a package in his car from one place to another, for which he will be very well rewarded. However, the packages are from a drug cartel and soon Earl becomes more and more intertwined in their net. This while the DEA targets two agents, Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper) and Treviño (Michael Peña), investigate the network hoping to make arrests.
What I liked about this movie was to see how Eastwood portrays his character during his interaction with members of the cartel. He comes across as very ignorant and a man who sees everything very simply, but is also able to resolve a situation to his advantage with either a joke or skill. His character is sympathetic, making you care for him. The focus is mainly on his journeys, and Eastwood spends too little time on the other side of the story, that of the DEA. Michael Peña has almost nothing to do and also Bradley Cooper’s character is nothing but an agent asking for permissions without much character development. Yet The Mule is a film that continues to fascinate, even though this is not Eastwood’s best work.
[score7]