A welcome departure from the normal tripe in Hollywood

Rating: 10/10 (24 May 2006)

In a year that seemed littered with stereotypical romantic comedies and comic book heroes, Mystic River was a welcome change from that norm, and absolutely stood out as one of the best movies in 2003. Clint Eastwood directed this highly-engaging tale about three childhood friends that share a traumatic past, who are brought back together for different reasons after a young woman's murder.
One of the main reasons for this movies success is the acting, which is superb, and with a cast that includes Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Lawrence Fishburne, and Marcia Gay Harden, it should be.
Sean Penn does a magnificent job portraying a Jimmy Markum, a reformed mobster who is devoted to his wife and daughters. When his oldest daughter, who is from a previous marriage, is killed in a seemingly senseless murder, Penn's character struggles to hold himself together as he reverts back to his gangster-like ways in an attempt to find out who killed his daughter. Penn does an award-winning job of displaying his wide range emotions of his character experiences, from the heart-wrenching ordeal of having to identify her body at a local morgue, to his quest to take revenge on his daughter's killer.
An equally compelling performance is delivered by Tim Robbins, who plays Dave Boyle, one of Jimmy Markum's childhood friends and potential suspect in the murder. Robbins elicits a unique blend of suspicion and sympathy from the audience as his character deals not only with the current murder, but with his own personal demons from his youth. Viewers feel sorry for Boyle as the tragic events of both the past and present drag him deeper and deeper into a dark and depressive state, yet still wonder about his true involvement in the murder since you never get the feeling that he's telling the whole story, and occasionally gets caught in small lies.
Kevin Bacon offers a strong supporting hand as Sean Devine, another buddy of both Markum and Boyle's, who has made a life as a cop and is called in to investigate the murder. Devine is a dedicated cop who, at times, seems torn between his two friends: Markum, because he needs to bring his daughter's killer to justice, and Boyle, because he doesn't want to believe that this old friend is the young woman's killer. His faith in Boyle sometimes brings him into conflict with his partner, (played by Lawrence Fishburne) who is almost entirely convinced of Boyle's guilt. He's also occasionally distracted from his job by brief, occasional calls from his recently estranged, which give us small, yet interesting glimpses into his own personal struggles.
Perhaps the most under-rated acting in this entire cast comes from Marcia Gay Haden, who plays Dave Boyle's wife. Haden plays the character as being confused and at times scared as her husband descends into a state of almost madness. We see her visibly become more and more shaken by his words and actions, eventually to the point where she seems to even question his innocence.
Aside from the incredible acting, the movie as a whole is magnificently done. The story is wonderful and compelling, the camera work is fantastic, and the whole film is a winner. People who watch this show will not be able to tear themselves away from it, until the whole tale has been played out and the credits finally roll. It was definitely deserving of the Oscar Awards and nominations it received, and should be considered on of Clint Eastwood's greatest cinematic accomplishments as a director.