Clint Eastwood's Attempt at a Shakespearean Tragedy

Rating: 5/10 (13 January 2004)

In the film version of Dennis Lehane's bestseller, "Mystic River", Clint Eastwood elicits flawless performances from an award-winning cast. Led by Sean Penn as a grief-stricken Boston tough who sets out to avenge a death at any cost, the film achieves a level of Shakespearean tragedy (elements of "Macbeth" and "Titus Andronicus" immediately come to mind) without ever embracing the lyricism of the bard's work. As compelling as the characters are, there are none who are sympathetic and the film is relentlessly grim as it marches towards its unsatisfying conclusion (nearly 3 long hours after the relentlessly grim beginning). As Penn's childhood buddies, Tim Robbins gives an outstanding performance as a man scarred by a childhood trauma, and Kevin Bacon is low-key but equally effective as the friend who grew up to become an investigating detective. The talented Laura Linney, who is not always used to good advantage in films, is downright scary here as Penn's single-minded and ruthless wife, but Marcia Gay Harden really shines as Robbin's suspicious and inceasingly frantic spouse. This is one of a couple of critically acclaimed films this year that I feel have been highly overrated, yet I feel that the cast does deserve whatever awards they may win.