Review of Mystic River (2003) by Jeff H — 26 Jul 2011

First things first: Clint Eastwood is a genius with this piece; his direction is so clear and symbolic in his shots and scenes that it would take more than a first time to notice why and how he is shooting the scenes or shots with specific characters in the most specific way and using the river to show the past guilt, trauma, and tragedy of the past that effects every day of a person's life, as does a river with the local economy.

The film has GREAT characters...it was no wonder the actors gave some of the best performances of their lives (earning them 3 acting category Oscars) because of the deep and resonant characters that are real people and you can see the depth in the film.

..the mistrust, the denial, blame, the hurt, anguish everything that is going on because of the murder of a young girl...much more deeper than another movie I saw that dealt with this (The Lovely Bones) but the story is not intriguing because of the basic conflict; I could find that on any episode of Law & Order.

But the way the characters reflect on their past to show why they are behaving now and the story unwraps itself in a suspenseful and tragic way. While I may not want to watch this film over and over, it is a pinnacle of American tragedy and some of the best acting I've ever seen especially by Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon (in his best performance ever) and Marcia Gay Harden.

While the movie may not have a specific message for audiences, it does do an excellent job of investigating and exhibiting the human psyche and the motivations behind our guilt, sins, and tragedy. B+.