The
Mule
(2014/XLrator Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B Film: B
It's
What Inside That Counts...
The
Mule
is a morbidly funny Australian dark comedy with a funny premise and a
solid cast that's definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of
Snatch,
Blow,
or Trainspotting.
The
premise is pretty familiar but it's the sharp filmmaking style by
Directors Tony Mahony and Angus Sampson that keeps things original.
In The
Mule,
a first time drug mule is caught by law enforcement. What attracted
me to this film was Hugo Weaving - who remains one of my favorite
Australian actors since his breakout role in The
Matrix.
Here he plays a gritty AFP Agent (not a total departure from
previous roles) and fits in well. The film also stars Angus Sampson,
Leigh Whannell, Ewen Leslie, Georgina Haig, John Noble, Geoff
Morrell, and Noni Hazlehurst as Judy Jenkins.
An
oafish loser Ray Jenkins (Sampson) comes by his life of crime very
reluctantly, having been content until now to live at home with his
parents (Geoff Morrell, Noni Hazlehurst) in Melbourne and work at the
local TV repair shop. But his less-than-upstanding best friend,
Gavin (Leigh Whannell, who co-scripted the film with Sampson and
Jaime Browne), manages to take advantage of Ray's trip to Thailand
with his soccer team, where he persuades the gullible bloke to
swallow 20 condoms' worth of heroin and smuggle it back into
Melbourne - all at the behest of a sinister drug dealer, Pat Shepherd
(John Noble), whom Gavin's fallen into business with. Things get
more wild for here in a thrilling final act that I won’t spoil.
Sound
and picture transfer is great with a 1080p high definition transfer
in 2.35:1 and a finely tuned, lossless 5.1 DTS HD (MA) Master Audio
track that doesn't disappoint. Extras include Deleted
Scenes
and Four
Behind The Scenes Featurettes.
-
James Harland Lockhart V
www.facebook.com/jhl5films
