Home Opinion The Mule: Is This Really a Crime Drama?

The Mule: Is This Really a Crime Drama?

by Jameela Brown

The movie “The Mule” is about a retired war vet named Earl (Clint Eastwood) who cares more about the flowers he has in his garden rather than the people in his life. The story opens with Earl missing his granddaughter’s wedding to get a medal for one of his friends from the Korean War.  Twelve years later, when Earl’s flower shop is closing, he realizes that he needs to keep a name for himself and get some money so he can receive his granddaughter’s acceptance. Earl does not want mess up his relationship any further with his granddaughter like he did with his ex wife and daughter. He was never there for them even when it was time for important milestones like graduations and marriage. Earl was a terrible parent and he does not want to repeat any mistakes he made with his daughter. Although some others might not agree that money can buy happiness, Earl believes it is his only way to help regain his granddaughter’s love. To make some money, he agrees to transport drugs through Illinois for the Mexican drug cartel. As suspicions rise, Earl starts thinking about his relationships in life and experiencing new challenges of an untraveled road.

The first thing that caught my attention was that the movie included Hispanic stereotypes when the scenes of drug smuggling come into play.  I did not like the fact that people place the illustration of criminals on Hispanics and African Americans. White people have the same capabilities of selling or smuggling drugs as any other race. This part of the movie lead me to believe that it would be a basic crime drama, but I was thoroughly surprised when my mind was changed by the end.

Many people might not feel sympathetic to Earl’s situation because of the path he has chosen. It is not easy to overlook someone’s bad character, and then to add aiding in an illegal action to the list does not help. Others may see his choices as a way to learn from his mistakes. While smuggling drugs is not a way to rectify your mistakes, his intentions are defendable, and some might even say commendable.We all make mistakes throughout life, but what we do with those mistakes is what truly matters. Earl shows a great deal of growth throughout the movie, which for me, takes the attention away from the genre of the movie and focus more on who Earl is as a person and his perspective on life and family                                                              

“The Mule” is a heart-wrenching film that will definitely make you look at life. believed was important in your life. While the movie was not what I expected, I got something much more significant from it. The cherishing of family as much as you can because you can never get back time with them. Even though the beginning was rocky for me I would still recommend this movie because of the lesson learned and how close it hit to home.

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