This film so not brilliant.

Rating: 6/10 (20 October 2003)

This film is not bad mind you,It's just not the brilliant tragedy that it's been hyped up to be. Mystic River is just one more film that's been tailor made for the Oscars. Dark, (but not dark enough), daring (but nowhere near daring enough), good (but predictable) performances.
Sean Penn was adequate, but his character shoots his emotional load early on, and he never gets it back. Robbins gives the stronger performance, but it's so good it's boring. Yes he nails the accent, and the mental state etc etc. I've seen that same sort of brilliant performance from countless other actors over the years. It's just one more example of a film that showcases the performers first and foremost and leaves the rest of the film to flounder in it's own mediocrity.
And of course: EVERY single actor takes a shot at the accent.
If you happened to be from Boston that gets really tired after a while.

Really tired.