Good, but I hate coincidences

Rating: Null/10 (18 May 2004)

If Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was not nominated in 2003, Clint Eastwood would definitely have won for Best Director. This movie is near perfect in the direction, production qualities, and it has some good performances.
Sean Penn is perhaps a little over rated, but he does a decent job in his Robert Diniro sort of way. Tim Robbins is also pretty good as a guy who is messed up psychologically.
The part that didn't sit very well with me was the coincidence of having two important and rare events happen in the same night. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. I hate it when writers introduce coincidences in movies. It makes the whole story ring hollow.
BTW I enjoyed the music in the film, and without knowing who it was thought "Now that's the perfect musical score for this film". Low and behold, the credits roll and Clint Eastwood is the composer! This man has some serious talent.