Another good movie with so-so ending

Rating: 6/10 (23 October 2003)

**Spoilers** I am not really sure what to say about Mystic River. All the elements were present to make a great movie, and yet somehow I felt very unsatisfied when all was said and done. The acting was tremendous, and the direction seemed flawless. The cinematography was eerily beautiful, and even the score was decent (seeing as it was written by Clint Eastwood himself). However, in the end I was left with more questions then answers, and in a sense, felt cheated. Perhaps it is my own fault. I probably should have read the book before seeing the movie. Then maybe I wouldn't have been scratching my head during that parade scene at the end. The movie would have ended perfectly if it had concluded with Jimmy and Sean standing in the street, pondering the "what ifs" in life. Instead it moved into this surreal parade scene that, I'm sure made sense in the book, but was confusing at best on screen. It seems that this scene was trying to convey certain thoughts and feelings without any words. In a book this is easy to do because even though the characters aren't saying anything, we are told what they are thinking by the author. In a theatre, on screen, conveying thoughts and feelings through gestures and facial expressions just doesn't cut it. At least not in this situation. I'm not sure if Sean, with his gun gesture, was saying to Jimmy "Hey, way to go," or "Hey, I'm gonna get you for murdering Dave." Oh well. Mystic River is a decent movie. I just wish the ending would have shed some light on everything that had come before it.