At 88 year old, it's been 48 years since Clint Eastwood directed his first film, 1971's thriller "Play Misty For Me". He shows NO signs of slowing down or losing his edge, delivering one of his recent best with THE MULE.
Eastwood is terrific as 90 year old horticulturalist Earl Stone. More comfortable working with his prized lillies than speaking with his alienated family, Earl has become two people.
At his flower shows, he's animated, humorous and a popular figure. At family gatherings, he's shunned by everyone but his granddaughter Ginny (Taissa Farmiga).
With his flower business crumbling under the weight of online sales and progress, Earl finds himself the perfect candidate for a very unlikely job.
At first unwittingly and eventually very much aware of what he's doing, Earl becomes a legendary cog in the wheel of a massive drug cartel, moving massive amounts of cocaine across the midwest in the visage of a man no one would ever expect.
Eastwood spins Earl's personal story in great detail, deftly weaving in the simultaneous story of the DEA's efforts to bring down the drug cartel.
Bradley Cooper is perfect as Agent Bates, under huge pressure to make arrests against the cartel. Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix, Mystic River) is Bates' boss, under increasing pressure to show success against the drug trade. Michael Pena (World Trade Center, Antman) is Bates partner and Andy Garcia (Oceans Eleven) is the head of the drug cartel.
Clint's real life daughter Allison is terrific as Earl's alienated daughter and Dianne Weist is excellent as Earl's ex-wife.
What the film does best is immerse you in these two worlds with people you grow to care about. They are all flawed.
As the two worlds begin to merge, they did so in ways I didn't see coming. Eastwood builds great suspense as Earl wrestles his new found wealth, the reality of what he is doing to earn that money, his past and the man he may finally be able to become.
The cinematography by Yves Belanger (Brooklyn, Dallas Buyers Club) is excellent, turning what could have been static shots of Earl driving cross-country into kinetic, immersive moves that pull us into the truck with Eastwood.
Eastwood's final scenes with Weist, his diner scene with Cooper and his interaction with the pick up team in the garage are excellent. This is an 88 year old actor showing everything he's learned quietly and powerfully.
As some of our best actors like Pacino and DeNiro seem to get louder and louder with age, Eastwood's grown more quiet, but certainly not softer. Earl is an imperfect man, ready to be front and center with who he is and who he's become. Perhaps not a huge stretch for Eastwood as he nears his 90's.
As a family drama and a crime thriller, THE MULE never fails to deliver and gets an A.
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