"Mystic River" is a powerful film with powerful
performances, particularly from Golden Globe winners/Oscar nominees Sean
Penn and Tim Robbins, but also from Laura Linney and Oscar nominee Marcia
Gay Harden.
But...I can't give it a completely unqualified rave
review. It's hard to discuss my concerns in too much detail without
revealing spoilers, which I'd like to refrain from doing for now. I do
believe it was strange and unrealistic for Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) to be
assigned to the murder case, though I recognize it was an important plot
device. That he and his partner didn't deal with the crucial piece of
evidence until the climax of the film seemed weak to me - such an obvious
plot device that could have been explained better. I figured out the
killer's motivation early enough on my own, but judging from the confusion
I've experienced in discussing the film with others, I think it could have
been presented a little more clearly. I loved Laura Linney's soliloquy at
the end, but I think it would have been more powerful if we had a better
sense of their relationship earlier. Above all, I was frustrated with the
final scene between Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon at the end of the film. More
has subsequently been explained to me that helps tidy things up a bit.
Apparently things were a bit clearer in the book, and not just because it's
easier to understand a character's thoughts in a book, but because certain
things were discussed in dialog in the book that was left open to
interpretation in the movie. If anything, a film needs to rely more on
dialog than literature, not less.
So it will make my list for performances, and possibly
Best Film, but probably not screenplay. Crucial elements should have been
added in.
My grade: B +
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