Bradley Cooper is having a banner year this year. In addition to the rave reviews for his directorial debut “A Star Is Born,” which he also stars in, he’s teamed up with Clint Eastwood again for “The Mule.” Their previous collaboration, “American Sniper,” turned out to be 2014’s highest grossing movie and scored Cooper his third and fourth Oscar nominations. While Eastwood’s “The Mule” is no remake of the 2014 film of the same name, the two films at least share a similar premise.
The film is based on a true story and follows Earl Stone (Eastwood), a World War II veteran in his 90s who is broke, alone, and facing foreclosure of his business when he is offered a job as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. After being assigned a menacing handler, Stone also attracts attention from DEA agent Colin Bates (Cooper).
Rounding out the cast is Diane Wiest, Michael Peña, Laurence Fishburne, Clifton Collins, Jr., and Taissa Farmiga.
“The Mule” will mark a return to in front of the camera for the legendary filmmaker. The last time he was credited in an acting role was back in 2012 in “Trouble with the Curve.” And, for the first time in a decade, Eastwood will be starring in a film he directed himself. 2008’s “Gran Torino” was his previous foray into directing himself and it must have left an impression. According to Deadline, audiences can expect the mood of this film to be much more in line with the iconic film than his recent work.
Eastwood is notorious for working quickly so it’s no surprise that the whole film came together rather quickly. The star became attached to the film in January, filming began in June, and then production wrapped up in July.
“The Mule” is currently scheduled to open nationwide on December 14.