A Film That Exceeds Expectations -- Even Those You Didn't Know You Had

Rating: 9/10 (25 January 2004)

MILD SPOILER ALERT MIDWAY THROUGH REVIEW
Anyone walking into a movie theater enters with certain expectations about the film he or she is about to see, and hopes that those expectations will be met or exceeded. How many times, however, have you had not only had the expectations you walked in with met or exceeded, but were also astonished that the filmmaker met or exceeded expectations you didn't even realize you had? Clint Eastwood, Brian Helgeland, and the cast and crew of "Mystic River" somehow managed to exceed such expectations for me.
Specifically, I walked into the film expecting to see a powerful human story of grief, loss, and the conflicting needs for revenge and more humane closure -- and in this expectation, Eastwood and company succeeded gloriously. Many critics have noted the epic nature of the film, and Helgeland's script (as realized by Eastwood's direction and the performances) subtly incorporates elements of Shakespearean tragedies. Indeed, two of the most chilling scenes of the film -- Sean Penn's confrontation with Tim Robbins in the desolate bar, and Laura Linney's bedroom scene with Penn -- are eerily reminiscent of the last two acts of "Hamlet" and Lady Macbeth's scenes respectively. Rarely do you see a film that truly achieves epic status on the intimate scale presented here, as opposed to the typical epic on the panoramic scale we're used to (i.e., "Ben-Hur", "The Lord of the Rings" series, "Lawrence of Arabia").
Where the movie aroused different expectations for me was just how intense and well-structured the actual mystery is. Much of this no doubt derives from Dennis Lehane's novel (which, admittedly, I have not read), but Helgeland's script and Eastwood's directing choices keep the viewer guessing as to whether the Tim Robbins character is guilty of the murder of Penn's daughter, or whether someone else is responsible. Moreover, none of these alternative explanations comes across as contrived or illogical.
-- MILD SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!
Indeed, the final explanation of the crime not only strikes the viewer as utterly believable, but highlights the tragedy by pointing up the futility of a character's revenge.
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Throughout the film, the performances are exceptional. Penn is brilliant as a man with a criminal past (who has not put that past too far behind him) forced to confront the brutal murder of his daughter; the scenes where (1) he finally breaks down after his daughter's wake, and (2) he vows vengence over his daughter's body are primers in the art of realistic, restrained acting. Robbins is equally fine as his emotionally brutalized childhood friend, who may or may not be guilty of the killing. Kevin Bacon gives a wonderfully understated, yet pained performance as the third friend of the trio, now investigating the murder and trying to maintain his perspective. The women are equally powerful -- Marcia Gay Harden as Robbins' loving, but terrified wife, and Linney as Penn's second wife, who has a leg up if anyone in Boston is casting for Lady Macbeth.
The cinematography and editing also highlight the film's mood, establishing the claustrophobic and gritty feel of the East Boston neighborhood where the action takes place. Watching the film, you get the illusory feeling that such a neighborhood is a wonderfully snug, safe place to grow up as a child (an assumption disproved by events in the film), but that it is almost like a cage to the adults living there. Likewise, Eastwood's flashbacks to Robbins' horrifying childhood experiences serve well to disorient the viewer and bring him/her into Robbins' mindset. Eastwood's musical score (yes, you read that correctly) is equally up to the task of mirroring its characters' lives -- outwardly simple, yet somehow still haunted.
Put simply, "Mystic River" is one of the best films in a year that has been highlighted by outstanding films.