Viewers with an aversion to the scatological would be well advised to avoid this Australian import, a reality-based crime drama shot through with moments of dark humor. Angus Sampson stars as Ray, a beefy, rather dim young man who takes a trip to Thailand with his soccer team and is reluctantly persuaded to swallow 20 condoms filled with heroin for smuggling back to Melbourne. Naturally he's stopped by airport security and turned over to the police, who place him in a hotel under guard until he relieves himself a couple of times to prove that he's not hiding anything. Ray's ordeal will drag on for over 10 days as the poor guy attempts to hold everything in (even when he has an accident, Ray goes to desperate—albeit nauseating—lengths to conceal the goods again). Much of the time spent with Ray is stomach-churning in other ways as well, with the sound effects perhaps even more upsetting than the action. Still, the script features some nifty twists, and the acting is good, not only by the long-suffering Sampson (who helped write the screenplay and co-directed with Tony Mahony), but also by Hugo Weaving, who plays a brutal cop with leering intensity. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
The Mule
Xlrator, 102 min., not rated, DVD: $14.99, Blu-ray: $20.99, Jan. 20 Volume 30, Issue 2
The Mule
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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