Don’t get any ideas, pensioners
IN the hands of many others, a movie about an elderly man who almost inadvertently becomes a drug mule could become a predictable disaster. Picture the scenario – either it could be one of those over-sentimentalised stories of a life gone wrong or, given its subject matter, a violent tale of an old person becoming the vulnerable prey to the vagaries of ruthless drug lords.
Eastwood may be 88, but in this most enjoyably entertaining film, he has succeeded in portraying a man who may appear doddery but seems in control of his situation and, to boot, almost enjoys it.
The film is based on the true story of Leo Sharp, a World War II veteran in his 80s who became a drug dealer and courier for the Sinaloa Cartel. Here he is Earl Stone – a 90-year old horticulturalist from Peoria, Illinois – who’s reached the end of the line in his life growing day lilies and working as a travelling salesman. Estranged from his family, he is, to put it mildly, down and out.
When he’s given a card with a contact number to help boost his empty wallet, he agrees to become a driver (at first unwittingly) for a Mexican drug cartel. Not the most ideal way to earn a fast buck but after the first, and then the second, and then the third, and more runs he gets so good at it that he completes more than a dozen missions. He thus notches up enough dollars to pay for his granddaughter’s education, help other members of his family and friends and buy himself a new pick-up where he barely conceals the stash.
His road trips become quite a delight as he traverses the countryside singing along to the likes of Dean Martin and other crooners on the radio and stopping off here and there to eat the best pulled pork sandwiches, and buy road-house delights.
Initially it all seems very simple as he drives from Chicago to El Paso where he leaves the pick-up and returns to find the illegal goods slickly removed and a nice wad of notes.
Things get a little complicated when the cartel tries to take greater control and while with his seemingly innocent profile he manages initially to elude the DEA.
But when the big boys start demanding an arrest they home in on him, at the same time that the lawbreakers decide they need to take him out and he’s apprehended.
Eastwood shines as the unlikely anti hero.
While the core story is to do with his evasion of the law and a somewhat romanticised depiction of the drug handlers (I’ve never seen such nice baddies!) with whom he initially has a charmingly doting relationship, it’s a film to which Eastwood has lent quite a bit of profundity.
We see him reluctantly visiting his family and the price he has paid for never being there. There’s a lot of home truths of staying connected and that also means of being in touch with those little things in life that give pleasure – to hold close and dear.