The Mule

The Australian film The Mule was well-received in its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival. It is an entertaining, if not terribly memorable film, based on some version of supposedly true events from the 1980s. The kernel of truth appears to have been the case of a man arrested as a drug mule and retained in custody for an extended period of time during which he refused to defecate and thus expel the packets of heroin from inside his body. The comedic story that the writers concocted around these true events appears to be mostly fictional. The story moves along nicely and is told in an entertaining manner with a heavy dose of Aussie accents. The acting is reasonable with an expected level of grossness that this particular subject matter demands. The best part of the night, however, was when the writer and director appeared on stage after the film completely drunk and went off on ridiculous rants that ended with one-handed push-ups. Since they're Australians, I'm not sure that anyone was all that surprised.

On the back of the Insidious horror series, Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson share the screen (and writing duties) again for an insidious horror of a different kind, one that's actually real for almost every human on the planet who appreciates the pain of severe constipation, or alternately that of holding the beast bashing at the door, promising to unleash hell.

Cleverly aligned with the underdog story and slow aching crawl and tension of the Americas Cup yacht race as a backdrop, it's a shame The Mule was erroneously positioned as a comedy. Inspired by a true drug importation scenario, The Mule manages to hold attention through a solid, genre-crossing screenplay and acting performances.

The at-times extreme grossness of the central premise won't be to everyone's taste, not least a scene where the mule (played by Angus Sampson) re-ingests his cargo with such excruciating effect viewers like me might want to repurpose their bucket of popcorn.

An entertaining and engaging Aussie flick, The Mule is worth holding on for until the satisfying end.

This is one of those rarely seen movies that just leaves and indelible image in your mind! There are some horrific scenes that are totally unexpected.

The story is a little slow to start but once the hotel part starts you will be stuck to the screen. There are some truly despicable characters to deal with and you will wonder how this will finish.

The dialog and writing becomes more wonderful as the story progresses. I do not want to insert a spoiler because this movie was totally unknown to me and I wasn't expecting much. It delivered more than I ever expected and it's a crime/action surprise.

When people form opinions about Australian Cinema, they generally base that opinion on previous Australian films with successful backgrounds, i.e.; Animal Kingdom, Chopper etc. What Angus Sampson has created here is a fantastic, moody, brooding black comedy/drama that surpasses most of the tripe that comes out of the US and Australia, but also that stands alone as a film that really works on all levels. Ignore Sampson's past achievements in the form of 100 Bloody Acres and the Insidious franchise etc. This film is a winner, and it's completely different. It is a stand alone film that pulls all the right triggers at all the right times. Sampson, having written, produced, starred and co-directed shines here as a shy and humble first time drug mule. His reluctance to be a participant in the smuggling leads to his fumbling through airport gates leading him to a minor cavity search that lands him locked up in a hotel for 7 days, guarded by Federal Police, waiting for the contents to pass through. The premise has been done before, however Angus Sampson brings the character to life and watching him hold on to number 2's for days is both uncomfortable and hilarious. This film is by no means a comedy. But throughout the film, the banality of simple Australians can't be helped but laughed at as they stumble through the complications of their lives. This film is a great Aussie crime drama that will stand up to the test of time like Animal Kingdom and Two Hands.

Definitely worth the watch and Angus Sampson is also one to watch in the future.

This is a really well made film; the plot surrounds Ray who is a bit on the 'slow' side. He plays a bit of 'footie' at his local club and mends electrical goods for a living. Still at home with his parents who are having financial problems. So when he gets made an offer by one of his closest mates to earn some easy cash – he decides to go for it.

It involves a trip to Thailand and more importantly a return trip with a rather full stomach. What follows is a story that had me totally gripped. There are some truly disgusting scenes here too so really make sure you are nowhere near food while this is on – and for a while after.

The acting is all top notch - Ray is played brilliantly by Angus Samson ('Fargo') but the real plaudits have to go to the perfectly horrible cop – Det. Tom Croft played by the superb Hugo Weaving ('Mystery Road') who oozes bad cop in a way that balances sleaze with old school policing and the tension is pounding for most of thisthriller – completely recommended.