A real character drama.

Rating: 9/10 (19 June 2004)

"Mystic River" is an heavy drama that heavily relies on the actors. And watching those actors perform certainly isn't a punishment.
The story from "Mystic River" is quite heavy and dramatic and the actors make it even heavier, in a good positive way. The story takes its time to develop the very realistic and humane characters without ever having a slow moment in it. The story really grabs you and won't let you loose, it has some good moments and twists.
The greatest performance of the movie is given by Sean Penn in his Oscar winning role. Other actors that deserve credit are Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne in finally a good role again and Marcia Gay Harden. The actors don't only act very well because of the script but also thanks to Clint Eastwood's directing.
It is thanks to and only thanks to the acting that this drama is better than the average movie. Don't get me wrong, the story itself is good but I'm convinced that with a other story the movie would have just been as good. It really are the actors that make this movie.
Well done Clint!
9/10
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