I Can't Leave This Film Behind

Rating: Null/10 (1 December 2003)

I'm reminded of a favorite teacher's old saying; "Great films start when the lights go up." I tend to believe in that theory, that a truly great film stays with you long after the final credit roll. Mystic River is a great film, a truly, categorically, irretrievably great film. It can't be less than it is. The film seems to feel genuine pain, like it's a living thing, in that it can't be less than it is. Some films strive to be more than they are, and there have been countless overblown dramas for centuries, most recently The Road to Perdition. Other films delight in their greatness, accept and relish it, making it a part of their delivery. But in Mystic River's case, it is a film in anguish, trying to make sense of its existence. That is why I feel the main character of the film is Dave (Tim Robbins).
I was drawn to Mystic River by two phenomena; seeing Unforgiven for the first time and being fully indoctrinated into the Clint-Eastwood-as-director fan club, and the other because of Stephen King's simple proclamation that there are few films that matter, really matter, and Mystic River matters.
The film clocks in somewhere near 3 hours, and though I was immediately aware of how long it was, I was also immediately aware of precisely why it was so long. There wasn't a single scene that didn't matter. Not a single scene where the film lost momentum. There were innumerable scenes which frustrated my companions of the evening, particularly the ending, but I was so enthralled I was not ready to leave this world. You might weep when you last see Marcia Gay Harden's character. I think about her, she's real to me now, and I want to help her. I believe this is why the film wishes it were less. I really think some people just won't be able to handle this film well, they'll wish it were dumber, shorter, more "action" packed, because this film is packed with the kind of action you don't want to watch for too long. But it won't let go of you, won't let you off the hook. You're in the know, at the end, and it's like finding out you've been cheated on. You can't have things go back to the way they were before, you just wish it had never happened. Dave's abduction truly drives this story, these people, it's all about what it did to them. But Dave's abduction is also a scape-goat, and you see it in the final frames, and you wish everything were OK. But three lives are ruined, and the final thought, maybe, is that these lives were ruined in their own way, at their own time, and that led to Dave's destination at the end of the film.
Tim Robbins, Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon all deserve Best Actor nods, and the same is true for Marcia Gay Harden and Laura Linney. The young boyfriend also deserves Oscar attention. And of course, Eastwood for director. If Mystic River doesn't win Best Picture, it will be one of the greatest second-place finishers in the history of film, and it will go on for years, haunting more and more viewers, redefining their lives in true ways.