The Mule (2018)

[Ezen Baklattan]

Review, Discuss, Debate, Celebrate.

[filmlover]

Yet another example of a trailer much better than the movie it is selling. There is potential for a really good movie here, but Clint Eastwood never seems to settle on a proper tone as it tries to juggle a cat-and-mouse thriller with family drama, with a ton of tone deaf attempts at humor in between as Clint says all sorts of socially inappropriate things (one could make a drinking game out of all the times he says something racist or complains about the younger generation), even though he gives a good performance (an excellent supporting cast goes to waste). While it musters up the occasional moment of entertainment, it’s gonna be too bad if this flat effort really does end up being Eastwood’s swan song. C

Edited December 26, 2018 by filmlover

[Webslinger]

54 minutes ago, filmlover said:

as Clint says all sorts of socially inappropriate things (one could make a drinking game out of all the times he says something racist or complains about the younger generation)

This movie made me realize that it's kinda troubling (or even #problematic) how much he seems to enjoy saying words that really aren't his to say. At least it fit the characterization and narrative in Gran Torino, but the occasional slurs he drops here just feel gratuitous.

 

I also love that for all the shit Eastwood's character gives the younger generation, his twentysomething-year-old granddaughter is the only family member who stands by him for most of the movie. Way to go with the mixed messages there, script.

[The Panda]

On 12/25/2018 at 8:59 PM, filmlover said:

Yet another example of a trailer much better than the movie it is selling. There is potential for a really good movie here, but Clint Eastwood never seems to settle on a proper tone as it tries to juggle a cat-and-mouse thriller with family drama, with a ton of tone deaf attempts at humor in between as Clint says all sorts of socially inappropriate things (one could make a drinking game out of all the times he says something racist or complains about the younger generation), even though he gives a good performance (an excellent supporting cast goes to waste). While it musters up the occasional moment of entertainment, it’s gonna be too bad if this flat effort really does end up being Eastwood’s swan song. C

Agree with this, the movie couldn’t really nail a coherent tone.  It’s also pretty racist.

[That One Girl]

6 hours ago, The Panda said:

It’s also pretty racist.

 

Eastwood's character is definitely racist, but the movie itself?  Didn't notice any examples of overt racism.

[The Panda]

1 minute ago, That One Guy said:

 

Eastwood's character is definitely racist, but the movie itself?  Didn't notice any examples of overt racism.

My problem was more that it felt more like the film was empathizing with the racist during Eastwood's racist scenes.  It plays Eastwood's racist moments for laughs than ever really putting them in a negative light.

Edited December 30, 2018 by The Panda

[baumer]

On 12/29/2018 at 7:46 PM, The Panda said:

My problem was more that it felt more like the film was empathizing with the racist during Eastwood's racist scenes.  It plays Eastwood's racist moments for laughs than ever really putting them in a negative light.

 

He's an incredibly flawed character, a flawed man.  They wrote him that way hence his racist tone at times.  You're allowed to have an anti-hero, root for him and still understand that he has flaws.

[The Panda]

4 hours ago, Christmas baumer said:

 

He's an incredibly flawed character, a flawed man.  They wrote him that way hence his racist tone at times.  You're allowed to have an anti-hero, root for him and still understand that he has flaws.

I get that he’s a flawed character, but the movie doesn’t play off those flaws as flaws imo.  It feels like an overall endorsement of him.

 

Like in the scene where he helps the family change the tire.  It plays Eastwood’s racism for a laugh and then shames the family for being sensitive millennials.  Felt like the movie was more or less endorsing Eastwood’s character in that scene.  And simply knowing who directed this movie, I have a hard time giving it the benefit of the doubt that it wasn’t.

 

Part of that could be that the movie is pretty poorly stitched together imo and isn’t really cohesive to begin with.  But I spent most of the movie waiting for him to either get shot or arrested, the movie never convinced me to like the guy at all but it played it all as if I was supposed to.

 

Meanwhile, another movie this year, The Favourite, has pretty vile characters who you end up somewhat getting behind.  

[baumer]

Well I disagree with that. I don't think he's someone that you root for the entire time. He's a dick at the beginning to his family he is selfish, self-centered and basically has screwed over every person  in his whole life. yeah he said some dumb things when he's changing the tire but imo his character flaws add to the realism of his character. You root for him in the film because he's Clint Eastwood by the understand that he is he incredibly flawed person.

[filmlover]

21 hours ago, The Panda said:

Like in the scene where he helps the family change the tire.  It plays Eastwood’s racism for a laugh and then shames the family for being sensitive millennials.  Felt like the movie was more or less endorsing Eastwood’s character in that scene.  And simply knowing who directed this movie, I have a hard time giving it the benefit of the doubt that it wasn’t.

Definitely the worst scene in the movie. A lot of this movie just came across as out of touch, like the movie wanted us to go “oh he’s just a lovable racist grandpa” except the racist grandpa is no longer lovable in 2018/2019.

[The Panda]

37 minutes ago, filmlover said:

Definitely the worst scene in the movie. A lot of this movie just came across as out of touch, like the movie wanted us to go “oh he’s just a lovable racist grandpa” except the racist grandpa is no longer lovable in 2018/2019.

Yeah, or the fact that we were supposed to root for him to mend the relationship with his wife when it never seemed like he actually cared given he’d bang any girl that touched him.

[baumer]

I'm not sure the film asked us to root for him.  

[Webslinger]

I remain amazed that Clint Eastwood is still active as a filmmaker wearing multiple hats – including acting – at the age of 88, but that’s really the only thing that amazed me about the otherwise uneven affair on display in The Mule. In the moment, The Mule is a sufficiently decent thriller that works thanks to Eastwood’s light-handed approach and occasional scenes that remind viewers how good he is on both sides of the camera. But when held up to even a minute’s scrutiny once the credits begin to roll, it crumbles thanks to glaring gaps in logic and attempts at a big redemptive arc that doesn’t really come together because the film can never make up its mind as to whether Eastwood’s Earl Stone is supposed to be an antihero or an unmistakably sympathetic character; it vacillates between those characterizations not with an eye on deliberate ambiguity, but rather with a sense of the screenwriters wanting to have their cake and eat it too. For his part onscreen, Eastwood is reliable as ever in holding viewers’ attention and looking appropriately conflicted. He doesn’t dig as deep or challenge himself as greatly as he did in Gran Torino, but his work in this film is still a far worthier swan song than his forgettable performance in Trouble with the Curve. There’s plenty of talent to go around the rest of the cast, but no one else has much to do. Ultimately, The Mule is a classic fridge movie: it works well enough to keep viewer attention as it unspools, but there’s also so much of it that doesn’t hold up on reflection that I can’t exactly recommend it.

 

C+

[Avatree]

Saw this today and enjoyed it enough. Found the ending very satisfying too. I agree with @Christmas baumer that certainly I was not rooting for him and I don't think Clint was asking me to. I kept rooting for Cooper to catch him and I still enjoyed it.

 

I don't even think the character is racist. @The Panda you mention the tyre scene it uses racism as humour. It's just him being out of touch. He shows no aggression or negative feelings towards the black couple. I mean he changes their wheel for gods sake.

 

I don't think the film itself is racist. Sexist possibly.

Edited January 31, 2019 by Avatree

[Avatree]

I did find the character confusing though. He appears to have no record of criminality but straight up joins the drug cartel. Has no problem running drugs - fine. Then in a couple scenes he out of the blue seems to reprehend what he's doing, and he seems genuinely surprised that in the bag was drugs. Which makes no sense as clearly he knows what he's running.

 

Also how can he just walk into rooms and women in their 30s just flock to him? Sorry I don't buy that for two seconds.

Edited January 31, 2019 by Avatree

[Barnack]

On 1/1/2019 at 11:08 AM, The Panda said:

Like in the scene where he helps the family change the tire.  It plays Eastwood’s racism for a laugh and then shames the family for being sensitive millennials.

Being not from America I am not sure how that scene show Eastwood character racism here ?

 

The movie feel a bit like it used ctrl-c, ctrl-v on that script by moment and didn't much effort most of the time, but from very experienced hands of someone that know what actually matter for a movie to work and what notes to hit. Despite the overall mediocrity, it kind of work, the legs proving it, really a 5/10 type of affair.