OK

Rating: 7/10 (30 January 2004)

The main problem I had with Mystic River was that it had trouble deciding if it was a murder mystery or a film about human nature. The movie's strength is when it is focusing on its characters and the decisions they make based on trust and instinct. More importantly, it is about the path one takes after making these decisions. However, there is too much time focused on the whodunit part of the movie. Maybe I concentrated too much on the mystery and a second viewing will change my mind. But to be fair, once I was pretty confident with who I thought the murderer was, it was early on in the movie. I had enough time to understand the film's meaning and to take in the performances without trying to play detective. It just never reeled me in. Eastwood does a good job of providing a depressing atmosphere and Penn does deliver a fine performance. The rest of the cast holds its own and there is nothing offensive about the movie. However, with all of the hype surrounding the movie, I came out of the theatre thinking it was just okay. I think that Mystic River would have been more powerful and worthy of its praise if it had stuck with the evaluation of its characters rather than dedicating so much time to being a mystery. 7/10.