Mystic River (Widescreen Edition)

Mystic River (Widescreen Edition) Review

I'll admit it's been a while since I've seen Mystic River in the movie theater. While initially my impression of the film was disgust(especially with the ending) I've recently picked up the DVD and watched it again with a new perspective. Mystic River is pretentious with it's self-importance and some will still argue whether or not the hype (and subsequent Academy Awards) is justified, however the honesty and emotions running through the film make it one of the more memorable films of it's time.

Mystic River is basically a melodramatic tragedy about three friends and how their actions effect the people around them. Sean's a cop, Jimmy's an ex-con, and Dave's their friend who was sexually molested when they were all kids. The movie centers around the murder of Jimmy's daughter and the actions the three friends take to deal with it. There's alot more to the story of these damaged characters and the film mostly focuses on their personal lives rather than the murder investigation itself. The movie's very raw and there is no happy ending for any of these characters. It's a very cynical story, but Clint Eastwood films Mystic River like an overbearing melodrama with over-the-top acting, camera work and music which at times is really unnecessary and gives the movie an accelerated sense of self-importance (which in my opinion is VERY annoying). I think Mystic River would've benefited with a more documentary approach and better shots of Boston (the movie's called 'Mystic River', why not show more of it?).

The acting, while sometimes over-the-top is very solid and believeable. Sean Penn is well cast as Jimmy and while the scene of him finding out his daughter's dead is waaaaaay over-blown his quiet intensity rings true through the rest of the film. Tim Robbins is perfectly simpathetic as the tortured Dave and you really feel terrible about what happens to him at the end of the movie. Kevin Bacon is a great actor but I felt Sean was a bit underused as a character though I can understand since most of his actions in the novel focused on him investigating Jimmy's daughter's murder and again the film is more about the character's personal lives.

The one bit of this movie that feels like a giant misfire is in how the ending is handled. SPOILER ALERT!----------

As I said in my opening I was disgusted and quite outraged with the ending of the film because in a lot of ways it seems to try and justify Jimmy's actions. Jimmy isn't supposed to be likeable despite the fact he really feels he's doing the right thing. I also hated how it de-humanized Dave and made his murder at Jimmy's hands seem "all for the best" with Sean's dismissiveness (in the novel Sean's much more progressive about the situation). It sort of gives the feeling that Dave deserved to die simply for being a child-rape victim. It certainly didn't help when Laurence Fishburne's character claiming Dave should be locked away simply for being a victim of sexual abuse. Sort of spreads the message that sexual abuse victims are less than human.

I like to think this was just a misstep on the filmmakers part thanks to Clint Eastwoods more sensationalist direction. I like to think what happens to Dave in the end is just part of the human tragedy of the story and NOT trying to justify Jimmy's actions as a concerned parent. I don't think Jimmy and Sean's actions in the end are unbelieveable though. Jimmy's already murdered someone before so obviously what he did isn't going to haunt him for too long. Sean's too caught up with his wife and kid and despite knowing what Jimmy did feels no matter what he does now can only make a bad situation worse by going after Jimmy(or maybe he does? The ending's a bit ambiguous). It's not a satisfying ending nor do I think it's meant to be. It is however very believeable and I think that's what the filmmakers were trying for.

So while Mystic River is far from the flawless masterpiece it claims to be it is a very powerful film. I can't say everyone will enjoy it, but it's a movie that no one will forget.



Drama. Mystic River tells the story of three men whose dark, interwoven history forces them to come to terms with a brutal murder on the mean streets of Boston.