Who knew that there are so many movies titled The Mule? I guess the most famous one is the Eastwood one from 2018, a hilariously bad movie that I’m yet to review. Moving on, The Mule, released in 2014 is the movie we’re talking about here. It’s loosely based on true events with some parts of the story exaggerated or completely made up. However, I can guarantee you that this movie really happened in some country, at some point in time. The story is basically universal when it comes to drug smuggling. And this is coming from someone who has seen practically every episode of Banged Up Abroad.
In case you’re not familiar with the drug lingo, a mule is a person who transports drugs in his body. They receive a relatively low compensation for their troubles. And by troubles, I mean that they could die at any time from a drug overdose. They can also end up in jail or simply be shot by the police. Usually, people who do this type of job are forced into it, one way or the other. This method of transportation is slowly dying out due to increased security measures at airports, but once this was the shit. Let’s go back to the beginning of the eighties and witness the boom of the muling business.
Ray Jenkins is not a smart man, but he seems like a decent and honest fellow. Living with his parents in Melbourne, he one day miraculously gets the title Clubman of the year and a trip to Bangkok. Accompanied by his good friend Gavin, Ray is having the time of his life until Gavin asks him to smuggle some narcotics into the country…
Mr. Anderson kept ringing in my head when I first saw Hugo Weaving, but with the appearance of John Noble (Denethor) that changed into: Home is behind the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread… It’s very difficult to describe the genre of this movie, it’s part thriller and part black humor comedy sprinkled with a touch of British and Australian crime movies. The cherry on top is the aspect of reality because they really tried to show us how it looks when someone is caught smuggling drugs in their body. At least in the eighties.
I want so badly to talk about what happens in this movie, but I simply cannot. I want you to have the same experience I had with The Mule. To enjoy the very specific type of humor and stellar acting by Hugo and Angus. Angus, who also wrote and directed the movie. Plus, I admire all the research that they did, consulting legal experts, doctors and other experts to make the story as authentic as possible.
Director: Tony Mahony, Angus Sampson
Writer: Jaime Browne, Angus Sampson, Leigh Whannell
Cast: Hugo Weaving, Angus Sampson, Leigh Whannell, Ewen Leslie, John Noble
Fun Facts: Angus Sampson suffered serious injuries while filming the scene in the bathroom. He “went through the porcelain of the shower base and cut my bum open”.
Rating:
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2130270/
