The Mule(2018)

Warner Bros.

R
1h 56m

Release Date: Dec 14, 2018 | Wide

70%
66%
A-
7

A ninety-year-old horticulturist and Korean War veteran turns drug mule for a Mexican cartel.

Official Website

Releases

Original Release | Dec 14, 2018

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Box Office Results

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$17,509,431
Total US & Canada:
$103,804,407
Total International
$71,000,000
Total Worldwide:
$174,804,407

Current Showtimes

Your Location or

(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

Clint Eastwood
Director

Nick Farnell
Customs Scott

Gallery

Technical Specifications

Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States,Canada

Language: English,Spanish

Summaries

Plot Summary

In 2005, Earl Stone (Clint Eastwood), in his 80s, is an award-winning horticulturist and Korean War veteran in Peoria, Illinois. In 2005 Earl missed his daughter Iris' wedding so he can receive a lifetime award celebrating his professional accomplishments. Enraged that her father once again chose his career over her, Iris stops speaking to him and his wife Mary files for divorce.By 2017, He is facing financial ruin and is estranged from his ex-wife Mary (Dianne Wiest) and daughter Iris (Alison Eastwood), for always putting work before family. He's still on friendly terms with his granddaughter Ginny (Taissa Farmiga) and attends her wedding rehearsal. Mary is super angry with Earl for missing Iris's wedding in 2005 and now is angry as she thinks Earl wants to mooch off Ginny as he has nowhere else to go. Earl has not told his family that the only reason he's there is because his flower farming business has gone bankrupt, and his home has just been foreclosed on by the bank.Earl is desperate for money as he had promised to pay Ginny's wedding. While there, he is spotted by a member of a drug cartel (who is the boyfriend of one of Ginny's bridesmaids) who had been tipped off by one of Earl's former employees as to his financial problems. Earl accepts the gangster's offer and becomes a "mule", transporting cocaine through Illinois for the cartel. Facing little suspicion due to his age, race, spotless criminal history, and strict adherence to driving laws, Earl is soon trusted with huge amounts of drugs and paid large amounts of cash. Over time, Earl gets more involved with the cartel and becomes one of their best mules.With the money he obtains from drug-running, he buys a new truck, settles his financial problems, pays for renovations of the local VFW Post that had been damaged in a fire, and his granddaughter's wedding and education. He becomes friendly with the cartel members, who call him Tata ("grandfather"). There are only 2 rules, don't look at the cargo and always answer the phone.Meanwhile, Special Agent Colin Bates moves to the Chicago DEA office and assigned Agent Trevino as his partner. They are tasked with closing in on the cartel's deliveries to Chicago. With details from an informant, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) task force made of Agent Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper), his partner Agent Trevino (Michael Pena) and their boss (Lawrence Fishburne), is narrowing in on the cartel's deliveries to Chicago. They start looking for the cartel's most profitable driver, Tata ("grandfather")As Earl gets more successful, cartel boss Laton assigns him bigger loads and assigns Gustavo to handle Earl. Gustavo doesn't like Earl as he has no family ties, doesn't listen to him, does whatever he wants. But Latin values Earl and asks Gustavo to put up with him.Unknown to all a snitch has given Earle's name to the DEA agents as their top mule. Earl keeps making bigger drops and earns a meeting with Laton at his home in Mexico. Earl mistakenly believes that the cartel considers him their friend. At a late-night party Earl suggests to Gustavo that Laton doesn't really care for him. Tensions within the cartel erupt when Gustavo (Clifton Collins Jr.), a power-hungry cartel lieutenant, assassinates cartel boss Laton (Andy García), and subsequently demands Earl be kept under tighter control.Earl follows instructions given to him and the snitch gives his exact route and stopping points to the DEA agents, but they simply don't suspect an old man like Earl to be the mule and keep on arresting the wrong people. In the middle of a $12 million cocaine shipment, Earl winds up in a diner with Bates. Neither man recognizes the other, and the elderly Earl gives Bates advice to try and mend fences with his wife and not make the mistakes Earl has made.Earl then leaves to conclude the delivery of the shipment but then gets a call from Ginny, who informs him that Mary is gravely ill. Earl initially tells Ginny there's nothing he can do until she rebukes him for his perceived lack of care. Earl relents and disobeys Gustavo, making peace with Mary and staying with her in her final moments. Mary dies peacefully days later. After attending the funeral and finally reconciling with Iris and the rest of his family, Earl resumes the delivery as the DEA and the cartel close in on him.The cartel's enforcers catch him and upon discovering that he disobeyed them to care for his ex-wife, they call Gustavo to request leniency. Gustavo agrees to this request and allows Earl to continue. Earl continues driving toward the drop point, but the DEA agents set up a roadblock and arrest him; Bates has a pleasant aside with Earl before sending him away.In court, Earl's lawyer starts to give an impassioned plea, asking for mercy for Earl due to his age and military service. However, a clearly guilt-ridden Earl interrupts her to plead guilty to all charges and is promptly sent to federal prison. His family lend him their support and promise to visit him. In prison, he returns to horticulture.

Storyline

Clint Eastwood stars as Earl Stone, a man who is ninety years old, broke, alone, and facing foreclosure of his business when he is offered a job that simply requires him to drive. Easy enough, but, unbeknownst to Earl, he's just signed on as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. He does well, so well, in fact, that his cargo increases exponentially, and Earl is assigned a handler. But he isn't the only one keeping tabs on Earl. The mysterious new drug mule has also hit the radar of hard-charging D.E.A. Agent Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper). And even as his money problems become a thing of the past, Earl's past mistakes start to weigh heavily on him, and it's uncertain if he'll have time to right those wrongs before law enforcement, or the cartel's enforcers, catch up to him. In Peoria, Illinois, Korean War veteran Earl Stone (Clint Eastwood) is a ninety-year-old horticulturist that has always prioritized his work and friends over his family. He is estranged by his ex-wife Mary (Dianne Wiest) and his daughter Iris (Alison Eastwood). When his granddaughter Ginny (Taissa Farmiga) is celebrating her engagement with her fiancé, Earl is completely broke, and agrees to become a mule above any suspicion for the Mexican cartel, transporting drugs under the alias of "Tata". He makes money and resolves many financial issues of his family and friends. Meanwhile, efficient D.E.A. Agent Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper) is in charge of investigating the notorious cartel and the mysterious Tata with his partner Agent Treviño (Michael Peña). — Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Due to financial problems, an 80-something-year-old man, Earl Stone, takes a job as a drug mule, driving shipments between Texas and Illinois for a Mexican cartel. Unbeknownst to him, the DEA are targeting the cartel, resulting in Earl being the central figure in their investigations. — grantss Illinois celebrated lily grower Earl Stone (73) wins horticulture prizes, but is too broke to afford a nice gift for his daughter Iris's wedding, where he even arrives late, grimly scolded by mother Mary who divorced him. 13 years of Internet competition later, he's so broke he can't keep his home. So a vague family friend's offer to earn a pack of banknotes by transporting a closed bag from Texas to Illinois in his trusted rickety truck and home is irresistible, so becomes his lucrative job, and he starts spreading the proceeds to family and veteran buddies. The DEA, using blackmail, and rivalry within the Mexican drug cartel that exploits the mule draw him and kin into a dirty game with many losers. — KGF Vissers 1 more All