Review of Mystic River (2003) by Simeon T — 24 Nov 2014
The most transparent oscar bait I've ever seen, and also the most inept. Nearly everything in this film is weirdly off in a way that struck me as a scrambling attempt to win favor with the Oscar voters.
The lighting is too dark in a way that is distracting, the performances seem self-conscious and stagey and the movie is rife with conspicuous, extended pauses that are supposed to indicate gravity but instead indicate pretention.
Only Kevin Bacon seemed to me to be operating at the right frequency, and when the best thing about your movie is Kevin Bacon, you're in trouble. I admit that I've never gotten the hype over either Sean Penn or Tim Robbins, especially in this movie, but I think the problem here is Clint Eastwood, as so much is off all over the place.
This review of Mystic River (2003) was written by Simeon T on 24 Nov 2014.
Mystic River has generally received very positive reviews.
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