communication breakdown

Movie Review: Mystic River (2003)

[ 8 / 10 ] Three childhood friends, reunited in the worst of circumstances. Sean Penn, suffering from the loss of his daughter, is the cornerstone of a story focused on grief, redemption, and forgiveness. Penn is Jimmy Markum, a man with mysterious affiliations and a troubled past, but is a family man nonetheless. His daughter's death is more than he can bear - but as if this wasn't enough, his old friend Dave (Tim Robbins) is the prime suspect...

Mystic River is saturated with human emotion and conflict. It permeates literally every scene of the movie. Confronted with horrible events in both the past and present, the characters try to come to grips with their problems in their own ways, with mixed results. Each actor masterfully labors over their role, and the result is nothing short of impressive. Penn captures his character with an expert touch and really thrusts himself into the role. His scenes of coping with his daughter's death are probably the best he's ever done. But his is not the only story here. There is Dave, the simple family man with an unbelievable horror in his past, trying to clear himself of the charges. Sean (Kevin Bacon), the last of the childhood trio, is the cop running the investigation. His conflict is subtle yet important enough - he must balance his desires to be both a friend and a professional in order to get the job done.

When you get right down to it, this is a basic murder-mystery. But what makes the film great are the extra layers of complexity which are added to the story. These are real characters with genuine emotion - the film would never have worked if the caliber and quality of its acting were anything less than brilliant. Penn and Robbins were deserving of their Oscars - Marcia Gay Harden deserved her nomination nod as well.

Eastwood has done a tremendous directorial job here. The camerawork is excellent and it was a wise idea to be on-location: the film really captures the less glamorous side of Boston life. He clearly has great command of the script and knows exactly what he wants out of his characters. A director's job is to make everything and everyone work together - and given the difficulty of the story and the authenticity needed from each actor, the quality of the job done here is no small feat.

The conclusions to be drawn here are as complex as the storyline itself. It is no simple story of a murder, the perpetrator, and the victims. Each character is a protagonist, with real issues, concerns, and motivations. Not everyone receives, or deserves, a happy ending. But in real life, when does this happen anyway? The film deals with complicated, grey-area issues - after all, most of our biggest conflicts in life are not straighforward or easily solved. Mystic River will probably leave you with as many questions as answers; if you're the kind of person who relishes such situations, you will likely enjoy it.