Directed by:
Clint EastwoodScreenplay:
Brian HelgelandCinematography:
Tom SternComposer:
Clint EastwoodCast:
Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney, Kevin Chapman, Tom Guiry, Emmy Rossum, Spencer Treat Clark (more)VOD (1)
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When they were kids growing up together in a rough section of Boston, Jimmy Markum, Dave Boyle and Sean Devine spent their days playing stickball on the street, the way most boys did in their blue-collar neighborhood of East Buckingham. Nothing much out of the ordinary ever happened, until a moment's decision drastically altered the course of each of their lives forever. Twenty-five years later, the three find themselves thrust back together by another tragic event--the murder of Jimmy's 19-year-old daughter. Now a cop, Sean is assigned to the case and he and his partner are charged with unraveling the seemingly senseless crime. In the wake of the sudden and terrible loss of his child, Jimmy's mind becomes consumed with revenge--and his own plans to find the killer. Caught up in the maelstrom is Dave, now a lost and broken man fighting to keep his demons at bay. As the investigation creeps closer to home, his wife Celeste becomes consumed by suspicion and fear, while Jimmy's wife, Annabeth, draws her family tighter together in order to weather the storm. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (12)
A dark crime drama with a fantastically intricate plot. Clint Eastwood directs coolly, distantly, and very meticulously. Sean Penn delivers a fantastic performance and the dramaturgy of Mystic River is flawless. It is exactly the kind of film where everything falls into place at the end as it should, but at the same time it is raw, harsh, and unconventional enough to confuse even the ordinary viewer.
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This is exactly the kind of film I would have instinctively attributed to Clint Eastwood, even without any prior information. His sense for perfectly crafting a story shines through in every moment of the film. Mystic River initially struck me as just another detective film that didn’t stand out, but I was simply fooled. Within a few minutes, Eastwood launched his unparalleled symphony that completely wipes out its competitors. First, I want to talk about the central trio of actors, on whom the film undoubtedly relied. It’s impossible to say who was the best because all of them delivered amazing performances. But if I had to choose, it would be Sean Penn. The atmosphere is truly chilling, and the film maintains a high level of tension throughout its entire runtime. When Brian Helgeland handles a script, there’s nothing for the audience to complain about—they can just sit back and enjoy such a great, airtight story. The music also deserves praise. Once again, it was perfect, but that’s to be expected from Clint. Eastwood is an undeniable genius, and this is one of the best detective films I’ve seen so far. I give it 92%.
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To criticize Eastwood is to spend the rest of my life looking nervously over my shoulder, but I've got the balls for it. Because the problem with Clint's directorial output of recent years lies mainly in the fact that he's a crappy psychologist, but would love to be one (i.e. the classic problem of all trendy psychology students, who end up psychoanalyzing their houseplants two months into their first semester, oh how many I've known). He can't seem to go deep into the characters, even though the actors help him tremendously with that. Tim Robbins' acting in particular should be watched just as a reward. Except that his monologues with cheesy metaphors (vampires, wolves) rustle the paper (or was it hustle?) and you don't believe a thing. The film's straightforward mystery storyline will please all crime fiction lovers because it's got it all and Fishburne and Bacon are likable to a fault. However, that shocking ending that the film doesn't allude to in any way beforehand squeals like a pig, no matter how well shot it is – especially the rather brutal and excellent skirmish from the unnamed characters. There's a very interesting (again, paper-rustling) scene at the end, with Penn's wife, whose relationship we've also learned quite a bit about up to this point, and will therefore cause a wrinkle on more than one forehead, and ironically it's this scene that stands out enough to clinch that fourth star, even though I still found the "traditional" bits the best part of the overall film.
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An intimate psychological thriller that relies on a very talented cast and the reliable, experienced direction of Clint Eastwood. It's not a film that would cause a revolution in cinema or bring me to ecstasy with its execution, but on the other hand, it has no significant flaws and represents a solid above-average in its genre. Overall impression: 75%.
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It's not satisfying as a classic crime drama, but it is as a psychological drama. The film flows at the slow pace of a lazy river, there are no camera exhibitions, Clint directs artfully, giving a lot of space to actors who can show a lot of their range, and that's how I like it. Tim Robbins in particular dominates the performances, and here the Oscar is in the right hands. On the other hand, I would question the second award-winning actor, because Sean Penn, in truth, overacts in places. The intelligently written story manages to draw you in and not let go, although there are a few distracting elements, namely, the wife's strange silent phone calls to Detective Devin (played convincingly by Kevin Bacon), which have no connection to the plot and take it nowhere, and the poor symbolism in Robbins' character's reasoning – I didn't get the "vampires" (= pedophiles?) thing. Nevertheless, great satisfaction, also thanks to the unconventionally closed story. They don’t make many films like this in Hollywood today.
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