Frustrating Movie with a Great Sean Penn Performance

Rating: 6/10 (8 November 2003)

I love slow movies that build, particularly if the writing and direction are sharp and the acting propelling the movie along. Mystic River started off being that kind of movie. There's a tragic flashback, and a leisurely look at a fairly typical Saturday in the present day in an urban area near Boston (unclear where - probably Charlestown based on its proximity to the city). Suddenly, Saturday becomes Sunday and the day is in no way typical. Senn Penn does a great job at playing the grief-stricken father.
However...
Kevin Conway has a great (and uncredited!) bit part as Annabeth's father, appears briefly in one (or maybe two scenes) then disappears off the face of the earth.
One character pretty much arranges to have another character killed.
One character (a person without much money) has managed to anonymously pay someone $500 a month for about 12 years. How does that work exactly?
The dark lighting effects are sometimes handled brilliantly (when Dave is telling his son about the boy running away from the wolves) and sometimes render the actors invisible.
Another character shows a steely spine after being something of a mess for most of the movie.
The ending is just so scattered you wonder how it happened, after the movie starting off so promisingly.
I don't hate this movie. I'm glad I went. I don't know if it's just very faithful to a muddled book or what. But it's almost as if a different director and writer did the second half of the movie.