Il corriere - The Mule

A marketing campaign coming in at the 12th hour and a film that's still been surprisingly hidden by Warner Bros, The Mule could be a fitting end to a storied Hollywood career from Clint Eastwood. In many ways mirroring his life, The Mule gives insight into Eastwood's inner psyche, as he has navigated being an in demand actor for over 60 years whilst having a large family to look after as well. So if you're looking at the film in that way, it's a sharp and poignant apology Eastwood is sending to his family after all these years. It's not a perfect film, but it's tightly directed, at times brilliantly intense, and even emotionally moving. Even if it is a ultimately predictable and unsurprising drama. If it is Eastwood's last hoorah, it's been one hell of a run.

7.7/10

Truly one of the best movies of the year. It is nerving that the golden globes didn't give Clint Eastwood a nomination for best actor he gave a great preformance and his ensemble gave a solid story a solid story well told.

When you've got the goods, you've got the goods. Clint Eastwood has the goods in terms of creating, consistently, very good movies. Movies that move you, make you think - and most of all - enjoy a coupe hours of your life.

He's the got the Midas Touch. I don't think I've ever watched a Clint Eastwood movie I disliked, and I'm picky.

This movie revolves around a topic so near and dear to all of us: family. It highlights that none of us are perfect, some more than others, but in the end - redemption and forgiveness are there for even the worst of us.

He elegantly, again, makes a movie for an older actor that works, and works really well.

Do yourself a favor and watch this movie, you won't be sorry. Clint Eastwood is a master of his trade, and this movie - like so many of his before - clearly shows that.

This film was perfectly paced to tell the short but true story of an 80 year old WWII veteran and horticulturist's time as a drug mule for the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel. In reality Leo Sharp smuggled more than a ton of Cocaine into Michigan for $1.25 million and was sentenced to three years in prison, after being caught by the DEA, of which he served one year.

In the film, the real Leo Sharp is named Earl Stone and is portrayed by Clint Eastwood himself, who additionally both directed and produced this project. (Also, One of Eastwood's real life daughters starred as his daughter in the film.). Earl is a day lily horticulturist whose business suffers to the point where his home and farm are being foreclosed on, due to his unwillingness to keep up with the times by way of the internet. By chance he meets a young man who offers him a job delivering a package across state lines at his granddaughter's engagement party, which he jumps at in order to make money to help pay for her wedding and save face with his estranged family.

The film really makes a compelling argument for how he gets started in the business and an even more compelling argument for how he got away with it. As an older gentleman people would never guess that he would be involved and in fact even though the DEA gets pointed right to him and the motel he is staying at...they completely overlook this elderly war veteran.

This was slow paced, but heartfelt and emotional. I think fans of good cinematography will enjoy it, fans of Clint Eastwood will love it and fans of good story telling should watch it. It was nice to see Clint Eastwood starring in this film and playing a character of a similar age.

You could say I'm a considerably huge Clint Eastwood fan, I celebrate the man's whole career and love most of his work. As a director, I think he's been solid overall, making a handful of classic films along the way. As watchable as it is, The Mule is not one of them. It could be the last big thing we see from Eastwood's career, and if so, then it's not a bad note to go out on, but it's not his best, and it doesn't have to be. He's proven himself a hundred times over, and this is the film he wanted to make. The Mule is a fine movie to watch, and Eastwood plays a very subdued character, unlike his role in Gran Torino where he still had shades of his bad boy past. He's softer, he's passive, he's what you expect a man of this age to be...and in that way, he played it perfectly.