Modern Day Classic

Rating: 8/10 (17 March 2004)

Everything has been said about this film, both positive and negative. The first thing I noticed was how incredibly unpretentious this film was. It's a great story told really well, nothing more nothing less. My only suggestion for anyone interested in this film is: go see it and decide for yourself.

Mystic River is a film about how tragedy shapes people's lives. Some people cope and some people fall apart, but in the end no is ever the same again. Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, and Keven Bacon play three characters whose friendship is torn apart by a childhood tragedy. It is only after another tragedy many years later that they finally come together. What takes place next is a course of events that's both intriguing in its mystery and exciting in its action. But Mystic River is far more then mere thriller. It's a character study. It's not the twists and turns of the plot that effects the audience but the twists and turns of the character's emotions. We feel for these characters because they look, feel, move, and act like real human beings. There are great performances from this great cast but the movie never plays like a show case for there talent. It's good to see a movie return to classic Hollywood story telling. So many movies try to impress us with cool CGI, mind boggling plot twists, and over done camera tricks. The problem with that is that these movies often lose sight of what's really important: the characters. The characters in Mystic River are front and center and we see them for who they are.
My only real critique of this film is the blaring music that just seems too much at times; other then that I really can't complain.