Grade: A-Unlikable and hard to watch are two easy ways to write off Clint Eastwood’s latest effort, Mystic River. But for those who are willing to let the complex characters and narrative of this film simmer (simma, simma!) on the brain, they will discover the right descriptions for this movie: powerful and stirring. Jimmy, Sean, and Dave are three best friends, who spend their uncomplicated childhood playing street hockey. It remains seemingly idyllic until two child-rapists, posing as police officers, abduct Dave and keep him hostage for four days, until Dave is able to escape. As adults, the three friends have grown apart and lead radically different lives. Jimmy (Sean Penn) is an ex-con who runs a grocery store; Sean (Kevin Bacon) is a police officer who is estranged from his wife; and Dave (Tim Robbins), still haunted by the his four days in hell, is married with a young son. When Jimmy’s oldest daughter is found murdered and Dave is the chief suspect, the paths of these three childhood friends will once again cross. If you like a movie with easy questions and easy answers, this film is not for you. Mystic River goes right for the jugular, and pulls you in from the very first scene. The three leads (Penn, Robins, Bacon) deliver strong performances, in particular Sean Penn with his best performance in nearly a decade, and Kevin Bacon who gives resonance to a character that could easily have been overlooked in the grand scheme of the movie. Eastwood makes only one mistake: by adding a final and unnecessary epilogue, Eastwood lessens both the impact of the characters and the film overall. Yet this is just a small blemish on movie which is one of the year’s best.
© 2003 Jacob Sproul
October 2003 Archive
2003 Archive
Main Archive