The concise critics

The Mule

Year : 2014 Director : Tony Mahony, Angus Sampson Running Time : 103 minutes Genre : ,
Movie review score
3/5

What’s it about?
In 1983, a meek Australian footballer (Angus Sampson) is detained by local law enforcement for seven days, until he passes the heroin he is smuggling in his stomach.

What did we think?
Dominic Barlow says: For the first 45 minutes, the film is a dark comedy with a hapless, loveable hero under serious pressure. After that, things go from strangely funny to just strange, because we spend roughly as much time in the affairs of the no-good cops and crooks around him. There’s some nice period touches, with high-panted outfits and TVs tuned to the America’s Cup, to create a muddy feel of middle-class Australia. It’s also stacked with fine performances from the likes of Hugo Weaving, John Noble and Noni Hazelhurst. On the whole, though, it’s a grubby crime caper that doesn’t have much humour, and not much intrigue either.

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