Mystic River

Released:  October 15^th, 2003

Rated:  R

Distributor:  Warner Bros.

Starring:  Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney

Directed by:  Clint Eastwood

Written by:  Brian Helgeland

Personal Bias Alert:  likes Clint Eastwood movies, likes slow, moody dramas

8.5 of 10

            Mystic River is one of those films that’s about many things, none of which are hidden but are too painful to look directly at.  Instead, it flits about from the main storyline to the subtext to the characters, orbiting around the same bleak idea that does more to make the film dark than its muted lighting or pedantic pace.  A quick movie it is not, nor does it want to be one.  It wants you to feel the weight of every event, to understand the context, and to know the ramifications without ever having to see them.  This fictional slice of Boston is as well-built as George R.R. Martin’s Westeros or Tolkien’s Middle Earth, and the drama that plays out there is as grand in scale as either of those epics.

            Sean Penn anchors the film as Jimmy Markum, a former bad boy who’s settled into a life of respected domesticity.  When his daughter turns up murdered, the neighborhood knows what will be unearthed in Jimmy, and no one dares to stand in his way.  Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon also star as Jimmy’s childhood friends, Dave and Sean.  The three boys were together when Dave was picked up by two men who abused him for several days, an incident that none of them were ever able to shake.

            A large portion of the film follows Sean, who’s now a cop, as he and his partner investigate the murder of Jimmy’s daughter.  The whodunit forms the backbone of the story from a structural standpoint, but it’s the least interesting portion of the film, at times drawing too much focus away from the three men.  Every story needs a structure, but the best come up with something that ties in firmly with the themes that run through it.  Mystic River is a bit too loose for such a neat bow, and at times the procedural aspect seems just as rote as the cop shows you find playing endlessly on cable television.

            What’s truly captivating is Jimmy and Dave, who’ve remained friendly over the years and are brought closer by the murder.  They both bear scars, to differing extents, from the incident when they were boys, but neither are healed enough to talk about it.  Penn plays Jimmy like a loaded gun that’s half-cocked, daring people not to take him seriously but reticent to go off.  Dave is an unraveling mess, with Robbins portraying his fear and vulnerability without ever making him seem weak.  You figure out pretty quickly where their relationship is heading, and the tragedy of that ending isn’t lost on either character.  Both Penn and Robbins won well-deserved Oscars for their performances, and it’s hard to pinpoint a time when either men were better throughout their remarkable careers.

            The whole enterprise is headed by director Clint Eastwood, whose films often harken back to an older style of cinema where the story is allowed to breathe and the film is wrapped up with a cumulative, downbeat scene.  His stylistic tools are all here, including his beautiful use of shadow, and as elegant as the film looks, it never escapes the feeling that something is missing.  This is perhaps a product of hindsight, as his nearly flawless and tonally similar film Million Dollar Baby came out only one year after Mystic River.  The similarities between the two films make them feel like a pair, with Mystic River as the electrifying build to Million Dollar Baby’s crescendo.  It seems that Clint learned much from Mystic River’s small missteps, and if its place will forever be in the shadow of Million Dollar Baby, well, that’s a pretty excellent shadow to be in.

Other Notes:

Ø  This is my favorite Sean Penn performance.

Ø  Why does everyone think Tim Robbins killed someone?

Ø  Are the three guys really supposed to be in their mid-30s?  Because they all look mid-to-late 40s.