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Mystic River - Special 3-Disc Edition Customer Reviews (37 - 39 of 82 Reviews)
Violence Breeds Violence.
"Mystic River" is an across-the-board triumph of filmmaking by the talented Clint Eastwood, who not only directed and co-produced this movie, but also composed the film's dark and brooding score. Set in working class Boston, it tells the story of two childhood friends (Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon) who are emotionally scarred after witnessing the abduction of another friend, Dave (Tim Robbins). As adults, Jimmy (Penn) is an ex-con trying to make a decent living with his wife Annabeth (Laura Linney), while Sean (Bacon) is a homicide detective. But when Jimmy's daughter is suddenly killed, a murder mystery soon unfolds and Sean is soon called upon to investigate the case. While much has been made of "Mystic River"'s cinematography, the film's power lies in the performances, all of which are stunningly good. Expect yet another Oscar nomination for Sean Penn, who vividly brings to life the agony of a mourning parent desperate to seek revenge for the murder of his child. The solid Marcia Gay Harden also deserves props for her role as Dave's wife Celeste. But the real star of the show is definitely the 73-year-old Eastwood, who no doubt made his best film in years. You can run to the multiplex to catch a big budget movie that's louder and flashier. But in terms of dramatic tension, believable performances, and a witty script, "Mystic River" is so far the movie to beat in 2003.
Great movie
Dave, Jimmy and Sean spend a pretty normal childhood in a Boston neighborhood. One day though, everything changes: Dave is abducted and sexually abused by two men who pretend to be policemen. Though he can escape after a few days of torture and returns home safe, his life will never be the same from this day on, and the lives of the three boys go into different directions.
25 years later, a tragic event brings the former friends together. Jimmy's (Sean Penn) 19-year-old daughter is brutally murdered. Sean (Kevin Bacon), meanwhile working for the state-police, promises his old buddy to find the murderer of the young woman. Soon Dave (Tim Robbins) becomes the main suspect...
"Mystic River" is really a brilliant movie (based on a great novel by Dennis Lehane, which is - even after having watched the movie - worth reading)...and definitely on of the best with Clint Eastwood as a director. This movie is a good example that it is still possible to make a great movie without expensive visual effects and computer-generated action sequences. It's just the right mixture of a great plot (it closes the gap between a thriller and a psychological drama), a perfect score, extremely good directing and outstanding performances from the ensemble, which is one of the best that Hollywood has seen in the last decade.
Sean Penn is probably playing the best role of his career and Tim Robbins is outstanding as the broken man who is still suffering from his childhood. Both actors got Academy Awards for their performances. Nevertheless, the rest of the great cast is doing a very good job too...Kevin Bacon, Laura Linney, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurence Fishburne and many actors in supporting roles contribute to the best movie of the year 2003.
You definitely need to watch this one...it's dark, encouraging, sad, exciting, brutally realistic and simply brilliant!
A brilliant masterpiece in American filmmaking
I just caught the evening matinee show of "Mystic River" at my local movie theater tonight. The complex storyline and gritty cinematography truly is worthy of praise by film critics and moviegoers alike. I haven't read the book yet because I wanted to see the movie first and not ruin the entire movie experience. The three main characters played by Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon were so well written, if not well calculated. All three characters were traumatized and still haunted by the abduction of their best friend Dave. Dave never recovered from his abduction by two slimeballs who passed themselves off as cops. The emotional damage of being molested for four days leaves Dave Boyle permanently damaged emotionally and psychologically. Tim Robbins put in a rich performance as the tormented Dave. Although grown up and was married, he was clearly still haunted by the events of his childhood. Who wouldn't? Marcia Gay Harden put in a wonderful performance as Dave's wife Celeste who believed that Dave was responsible for the murder of Jimmy's eldest daughter from his first marriage. I never really took Kevin Bacon very seriously as an actor however I thought this was the best performance as Sean I have seen from Kevin. Laurence Fishbourne (whom I forgot to mention earlier) was equally wonderful as Sean's partner. I thought his performance was more subtle and lo-key which was fine since the focal point of the movie was around Dave, Sean, and Jimmy. Of all the actors/actresses in the film, I thought Sean Penn put in the most compelling performance as the ex-con Jimmy Marcus whose 19 year old daughter is brutally murdered. When he discovers that the body the cops found was his daughter, I immediately felt the hairs on my arms stand up straight. I never got the chills like that in any movie until now. Sean may be a difficult actor but the performances he puts in truly shines, especially in "Mystic River". As a result of his daughter's death, Jimmy is reunited with his old childhood friends Dave and Sean. The death of Jimmy's daughter quickly unravels and immediately has an explosive effect on the three childhood friends. I would have loved to have seen how the death of Jimmy's daughter effected his other daughters but that might have been a distraction from the story. I loved Laura Linney as Jimmy's wife. Her performance was just as subtle as Laurence Fishbourne which is why I like Laura so much, she doesn't overact like most major Hollywood actresses today. Marcia Gay Harden is wonderful in this film. I hope one or both of the actresses are recognized for their performances in "Mystic River" when Oscars roll around. I immensely enjoyed the twists and turns in the film. There wasn't anything about this movie that I didn't like. The cinematography was excellent. It truly fit the mood of the movie. "Mystic River" certainly ranks as one of, if not the best film of 2003. After seeing the film adaptation, I picked up the book today and I look forward to comparing the film and the book.
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