A Triumph

Rating: 9/10 (10 November 2004)

This movie didn't get nearly enough attention at the Oscars. They got two awards for acting but they got bilked out of the best supporting actress award, and the best picture award if you ask me.
This movie was beautifully filmed and the performances were top notch. At time's I felt that Sean Penn had a little too much yelling and not quite enough actual acting but he definitely did deserve that Oscar. Tim Robbins gave one of his best performances ever in this film, you feel hunted just by watching this guy, it was an amazing performance that draws you in and won't let you go, you really believe him as this character and, like Sean Penn he deserved his Oscar. Kevin Bacon also gave a strong performance, and both Laura Linny and Marcia Gay Harden deserved the academy award far more than Renee Zelwigger did for Cold Mountain.
Clint Eastwood's direction was superb, everything in this movie was done so powerfully and yet so subtley that you feel like you are watching real life.
Clint Eastwood has a very unique approach to dealing with his actors, giving them more room to go with what they want to do then just what he want's. I still find it fascinating that two of the best director's of our time, Clint Eastwood and Micheal Mann can be the exact antithisis of each other in the way they run their sets and work with the people who are working for them.
I rarely devote a paragraph to a musical score but this time I think it is warranted. It was also composed by Clint Eastwood. It amazed me how incredibly well it fit the feel of the film, a little dark and gloomy, very subtle. It doesn't give you and uplifting bravora style of a musical score but something that is simply made to exentuat the ambiance of the film. Its rare to see a director compose the score to his film but this was just as good as any of the greats like Hans Zimmer, James Horner, or John Williams could have done.
It is easy to loose yourself in this film, it is easy to forget that you are in the theater, or now, sitting on the couch watching it. The writing, the acting, the set all seemed so real to me.
The 8.1 stars that this film has posted isn't a fluke, it is truly deserving of a high user rating, in fact I wish it was higher. This isn't just one of the best films of the year, this is one of the best films ever made. I would recommend this movie to anyone, anytime, anyplace. If you can't see the brilliance of this film you need to get your eyes checked.