Taglines: Nobody runs forever.
This movie is based on a true story of a World War II vet named Leo Sharp. The film opens with Earl Stone (Clint Eastwood), an elderly man who grows daylilies, winning another award for his flowers. At the same time, his daughter Iris (Alison Eastwood) is getting re-married elsewhere. Granddaughter Ginny is initially optimistic that Earl will show up but grandma Mary Stone – Earl’s ex-wife (Dianne Wiest) knows he will ultimately disappoint everyone. In fact, Earl stands up his family once more.
10 years later. The internet flower businesses have driven Earl into foreclosure. He shows up at Ginny’s birthday party and Iris causes a scene. Mary realizes that Earl is there looking for a place to live, when she sees all the possessions in his beat-up old truck.
One of Ginny’s shady friends gives Earl a business card and tells him he knows someone who is hiring drivers. Good money, no questions asked. Earl finally calls and goes to a garage where Mexican goons put a duffel bag in the back of his truck as well as a cell phone. He is told to never use the phone but to answer it “night or day.” He is to never look in the bag, park the truck and come back in an hour. He does as told and finds an envelope stuffed with cash in the glove compartment.
Meanwhile, the DEA has brought a new hot shot agent, Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper) to try and catch drug dealers and traffic into the US. He and his partner (Michael Pena) recruit an informer and get to work. Earl buys himself a new truck and gets his home out of foreclosure. A Korean war vet, he visits the VA and finds it has been gutted by a fire. “If only someone would donate some money to repair it,” says a volunteer, eying Earl’s new truck.
Earl attends Ginny’s wedding but Mary and Iris are distant. Mary tells Earl that if has truly changed, it will take some time and effort. It won’t be instant acceptance. Earl does another run, impressing the Mexican hoods with his new truck. The cartel boss, Laton, is also amazed that a 90-year-old man nicknamed “El Tata” (Earl) is the most successful new mule for his organization.
The VA holds a big reopening celebration. Earl is a hero. He also pays for granddaughter Ginny’s education and attends her graduation ceremony. Iris is still distant but Mary is starting to come around. But she also has developed a bad cough. The DEA has learned of the existence of “El Tata” and is beginning to gather clues to his identity. All they know is that he has carried more drugs than any other carrier and he has a black truck. Earl has many several more drug runs and has gained the respect of the Mexican gangsters.
Earl does a run and bumps into DEA agent Colin Bates at a coffee shop, the night after the DEA stakes out a motel looking for El Tata. Earl gives him advice about his family, telling him “Don’t be like me.” Laton brings Earl to Mexico to meet him and throws a big party in his honor. Unfortunately, his underlings feel they can do a better job and murder Laton. The new boss tells the Mexican hoods that they must crack down on Earl, and not give him the leniency to meander on his drug runs, because there’s too much money at stake.
Mary is brought home for hospice care to die. Earl has just started his first run for the new boss but knows this is his last chance to make things right, so he disappears. The DEA and the Mexican cartel is frantic that he’s gone off the grid for the first time. Iris comes around as Earl stays by his ex-wife’s bedside until she dies, then attends the funeral. She invites him to spend Thanksgiving dinner with the family. He then resumes his drug delivery.
The Mule is a 2018 American crime film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also plays the lead role. The screenplay, by Nick Schenk, is based on The New York Times article “The Sinaloa Cartel’s 90-Year-Old Drug Mule” by Sam Dolnick, which recounts the true story of Leo Sharp, a World War II veteran in his 80s who became a drug courier for the Sinaloa Cartel.
Along with Eastwood, the film stars Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Peña, Dianne Wiest, and Andy García. It is Eastwood’s first acting project since 2012’s Trouble with the Curve, and his first starring role in a film directed by him since 2008’s Gran Torino. Filming began in June 2018, taking place in Atlanta and Augusta, Georgia.
The Mule was released in the United States on December 14, 2018, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It has grossed over $98 million and received mixed reviews from critics, who called it “poignant and charming” and praised Eastwood’s performance, but also noted the lack of true dramatic heft.
The Mule (2018)
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Clint Eastwood, Manny Montana, Taissa Farmiga, Alison Eastwood, Michael Peña, Devon Ogden, Andy Garcia, Laurence Fishburne, Dianne Wiest, Ignacio Serricchio
Screenplay by: Sam Dolnick, Nick Schenk
Production Design by: Kevin Ishioka
Cinematography by: Yves Bélanger
Film Editing by: Joel Cox
Costume Design by: Deborah Hopper
Set Decoration by: Ronald R. Reiss
Art Direction by: Rory Bruen, Julien Pougnier
Music by: Arturo Sandoval
MPAA Rating: R for language throughout and brief sexuality / nudity.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: December 14, 2018
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