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Mystic River - Special 3-Disc Edition Customer Reviews (40 - 42 of 82 Reviews)

Mystic River
Clint Eastwood's "Mystic River" is a dark, brooding and painfully truthful film about two crimes that impacts and intertwines lives of three men. The story centers on Jimmy (Sean Penn), Dave (Tim Robbins), and Sean (Kevin Bacon) boyhood friends whose lives are forever changed when they witness Dave being lured into a car, taken away and assaulted for several days before he escapes.

Moving forward 25 years the three men are reunited when Jimmy's 19 year old daughter Katie (Emmy Rossum) is found brutally murdered. Sean, a homicide detective investigating the murder struggles with balancing his work and runaway pregnant wife who frequently calls but never says anything. Dave, who comes home late and covered in blood the night Katie is murdered soon becomes the primary suspect in the eyes of both Sean's partner Whitey (Laurence Fishburne) and Dave's wife Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden).

While the murder mystery plays well and will hold most audiances to their seats for 138 minutes the real strength of this wonderfully written film is the depth of screenwriter's (Brian Helgeland) characters with their keenly tempoed pursuit for truth and understanding of the two crimes and impact on their lives. Moreover, Eastwood is more than up to the material and doesn't flinch while walking the viewer through Jimmy's emotional journey of handling Katie's death to include thoughtfully paced visits to morgue and funeral home. Penn's change from anguished father to cold-blooded avenger is a real tour-de-force. His brief talk with his dead daughter while sitting on the back porch is riveting: "I know in my soul I contributed to your death, but I don't know how"

It certainly can be argued many of the cast members gave performances of their career, especially Penn and Robbins. The remaining casts were given substantial material to work with and they didn't waste it. Laura Linney and Marcia Gay Harden are wonderful as wives to Jimmy and Dave, providing a contrast in degree of support they provide their husbands. The former blindly devoted and latter suspicious of a husband whose kept her from the secrets of his devastating childhood.
The film's ending will leave some unhappy or unsatisfied, but for most it should remind us what great directing, writing and acting can provide--a chance for a story to unfold in a deliberate, subtle pace with the jouney often better than the ending.

Greek Tragedy, Murder Mystery.......and Melodrama.
Dave Boyle, Jimmy Markum, and Sean Devine were pals when they were boys. They grew up together in the blue collar neighborhood of East Buckingham in Boston. One day Dave got into a stranger's car and didn't return for four days, and that event would prove to change the course of his life from that point onward. 25 years later, Jimmy (Sean Penn) is a shop owner, a reformed ex-con, and a family man. Dave (Tim Robbins) is married and has a son himself. And Sean (Kevin Bacon), who left the old neighborhood to become a cop, is now homicide detective. When Jimmy's teenaged daughter is found murdered and Sean is assigned to the case, the lives of these three childhood friends become intertwined once again. And the past proves not to be so distant after all.

"Mystic River" was adapted by Brian Helgeland from the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. The film was directed by Clint Eastwood. This is a character study and a Greek tragedy masquerading as a murder mystery. Unfortunately, it's also a melodrama. The cast is all very talented, and the performances are competent, but the characters are overwrought to say the least. Even Sean, the least histrionic of the three men, manages a bit of exaggeration. The most impressive performances come from Marcia Gay Harden as Dave's wife Celeste and Laura Linney as Jimmy's wife Annabeth. Annabeth's startling speech and Celeste's behavior in the last minutes of the film do more than anything else to bring home the story's major ideas. But too many idiosyncratic characters and behaviors make "Mystic River" seem contrived and pretentious. And too much melodrama makes it insipid. So, in spite of this talented cast, I have to say that the film has the most success with its murder mystery. The murder is mysterious; the detective work is interesting; there is real suspense; and when we finally understand what has happened, it is truly affecting. I haven't read the novel on which "Mystic River" is based, so I don't know if the mystery or the character studies are its focus. But in the film, the mystery serves as a vehicle for gritty melodrama. And the vehicle proves better than its objective.

Critics swoon whenever an actor demonstrates competence at any craft other than acting. Consequentially, "Mystic River" has been somewhat overrated because Clint Eastwood directed it. Eastwood did a good job, but the film isn't earth-shattering. Sean Penn's performance has been widely praised, but this isn't even close to being Penn's best work. "Mystic River" has a lot to recommend it: A talented cast, a good mystery, excellent supporting performances. But be prepared for manipulative and overwrought characterizations. Still, the film is very worth seeing.

Compelling and Thought Provoking - Worth every penny
After hearing rave reviews about Clint Eastwood directed movie MYSTIC RIVER, I decieded to shell out a few bucks to go see it. My first impression of the movie was a little confusing, but after a moment of assessment I realized that Mystic River was more than just another thriller...This was a GREAT movie!

First off, the acting was incredible. Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, and Tim Robbins, who play the three men who grew up together in downtown Boston, all did a outstanding job. Laura Linney, playing as Penn's faithful wife, also did a wonderful job. The looks Robbins gave truley appealed to his outcoming schizophrenia personality and Penn's street style and family devotion makes you think twice.

Mystic River also delievered a fresh dose of reality without the usual Hollywood melodramactic approach. It made the mind ponder something else besides "Oh, I'm glad they got the bad guy, YEAH!" MR also did a brillant job of including unexpected humor throughout the movie to show that even good dramas can have a sense of humor.

Learn about love, family, friendship, and even some things you were afraid to think about. GO SEE THIS MOVIE. If you do not like it on the first run, see it again, trust me.

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