The Mule

The Mule (2018)

Directed and Produced by: Clint Eastwood
Based on an article by Sam Dolnick
Streaming on Netflix. 

It's a film set in the drug cartel world about Earl, an 80 year old who joins the cartel as a mule - essentially as a driver. It plays a little in the territories of Breaking Bad, where we see an underdog slowly getting into a world of danger. Things go well for him because he is never suspected because of his age and race. The beautiful part about the film is that, though it's set in this violent world - the film talks about family, love, regret and guilt. It's established right from the beginning that Earl was never there for his family. He misses anniversaries, and it was always about his work for him. As his family stops talking to him, he slowly begins to realize his mistake. But perhaps it's too late now. Life is too short to wait for the other person to call you. If you love someone, just tell them. What if after 20 years you realize that everything would have been different if someone just took a step?

Finally when he gets a call that his wife is on her death bed, he takes a chance and visits her. She tells him that he meant everything to her, the love she experienced, the pain she experienced, and she says that it means the world to her that he's there for her. I couldn't help but wonder how life would have been if he was there for his family a little more. I was wondering how Earl fell out of love with his wife. What if Earl fell back in love? Is it too late? He says in the ending that he could buy everything but time. We know how Earl starts to realize about it, when he tells the cop to put his family above everything, and that you don't need the other shit. Even in this film - it never forces us to feel and emote, it just creates those scenarios for us and we can't help but feel. At the funeral of Earl's wife, tey don't play any sad music - but we feel it. Because we now know what Earl is probably going through. It's such a bittersweet ending - the family tells him that they'll be there for him.