An Intriguing Mystery Thriller With Mostly Good Performances

Rating: 8/10 (7 December 2016)

Mystic River follows three men who were friends as children and are reunited in adulthood when the child of one of them is suddenly murdered.
I've always been a sucker for a good murder mystery, and this is no exception. The way the story is presented is intriguing and often a little unsettling. It's got plenty of character and emotion to drive the story, making it all the more compelling.
The characters themselves are pretty well-developed. Each one is quite different, and they all work really well together. They all, more or less, feel like real people.
The acting is mostly good. Kevin Bacon is great as the head detective leading the search for the murderer, but Tim Robbins is definitely the standout of the movie. He plays a much more troubled character in the movie, and he's both the most compelling character and the most compelling actor. As for Sean Penn, he's alright. I have no idea how he won an Oscar for this movie, his performance was acceptable at best. He's very bland for the entirety of the movie. His character is the most emotionally affected in the movie, yet he portrays the least amount of emotion in the movie.
Overall Mystic River is pretty great. The story is engaging and most every actor manages to portray compelling characters. In the end I'd recommend this movie.